Virtu Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,527 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $2,975,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,734 shares of the construction company's stock worth $939,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 39.8% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 2,038 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,097,000 after buying an additional 580 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 5.6% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 18,266 shares of the construction company's stock worth $9,832,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 158.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 43,952 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $23,657,000 after acquiring an additional 26,929 shares during the period. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 570 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on MLM shares. StockNews.com raised Martin Marietta Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $595.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. BNP Paribas cut shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $515.00 to $640.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $655.77.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:MLM traded down $2.98 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $557.20. The stock had a trading volume of 168,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 443,943. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $577.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $555.96. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $478.53 and a 1-year high of $633.23. The company has a market capitalization of $34.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $5.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.41 by ($0.50). Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.47% and a return on equity of 12.53%. The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.94 earnings per share. Martin Marietta Materials's revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 17.58 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.85%.

Martin Marietta Materials Company Profile

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc, a natural resource-based building materials company, supplies aggregates and heavy-side building materials to the construction industry in the United States and internationally. It offers crushed stone, sand, and gravel products; ready mixed concrete and asphalt; paving products and services; and Portland and specialty cement for use in the infrastructure projects, and nonresidential and residential construction markets, as well as in the railroad, agricultural, utility, and environmental industries.