M.D. Sass LLC Invests $54.95 Million in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

M.D. Sass LLC bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 102,083 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,946,000. Martin Marietta Materials accounts for about 4.1% of M.D. Sass LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. M.D. Sass LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Martin Marietta Materials at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 76.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,628,701 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $876,648,000 after buying an additional 704,460 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,515,441 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,353,936,000 after purchasing an additional 334,605 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 54.2% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 467,782 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $251,784,000 after purchasing an additional 164,503 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 247.5% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 148,827 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $80,634,000 after purchasing an additional 106,002 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 682.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 75,045 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $40,393,000 after purchasing an additional 65,454 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

Martin Marietta Materials stock traded down $10.60 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $593.40. The company had a trading volume of 58,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 445,792. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $456.83 and a 1 year high of $633.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $36.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.82, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $566.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $556.18.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 12.53% and a net margin of 30.47%. The business’s revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.94 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 17.58 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MLM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Loop Capital raised their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised Martin Marietta Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $610.00 to $657.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $730.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.85.

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.