Whittier Trust Co. Buys 994 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,647 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 994 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.'s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $8,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 54,277.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 918,432 shares of the construction company's stock worth $474,370,000 after purchasing an additional 916,743 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 76.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,628,701 shares of the construction company's stock worth $876,648,000 after purchasing an additional 704,460 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 23.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,678,425 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,441,663,000 after buying an additional 506,705 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $196,374,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 15.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,515,441 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,353,936,000 after buying an additional 334,605 shares during the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

NYSE MLM traded down $2.38 on Tuesday, reaching $488.31. The company had a trading volume of 361,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 460,834. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.77 billion, a PE ratio of 15.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $448.50 and a 12 month high of $633.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $510.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $539.41.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.17. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 12.11% and a net margin of 30.54%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total transaction of $632,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,673,425. This represents a 27.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Michael J. Petro acquired 550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $454.37 per share, with a total value of $249,903.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,082,514.45. The trade was a 6.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $657.00 to $622.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays reduced their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $628.64.

About Martin Marietta Materials

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.