AMG National Trust Bank Raises Stock Holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

AMG National Trust Bank increased its position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 462 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 55.9% in the fourth quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 959 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the period. Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter worth $729,000. Welch & Forbes LLC purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter worth $206,000. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 6,224 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,215,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter worth $196,374,000. 95.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock opened at $461.02 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $28.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.26, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $518.87 and its 200 day moving average is $543.22. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $448.50 and a 1 year high of $633.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.40.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.17. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.54% and a return on equity of 12.11%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is 9.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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 raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $690.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total transaction of $632,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,673,425. This represents a 27.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael J. Petro bought 550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $454.37 per share, for a total transaction of $249,903.50. Following the purchase, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,082,514.45. This trade represents a 6.52 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Martin Marietta Materials 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.