Great Lakes Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 19.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 172,475 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,005 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned about 0.28% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $89,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MLM. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 2.5% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 782 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 3.6% in 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 during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 447 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. increased its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 1,123 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on 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. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $701.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $680.00 to $645.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.36.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

NYSE MLM opened at $464.59 on Wednesday. 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 is $516.77 and its 200-day moving average is $542.07. The company has a market capitalization of $28.33 billion, a PE ratio of 14.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is 9.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.