Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Increases Holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 473,632 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,850 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $244,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 23.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,678,425 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,441,663,000 after purchasing an additional 506,705 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 15.3% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,819,744 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $939,898,000 after purchasing an additional 191,043 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,562,146 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $808,005,000 after purchasing an additional 148,065 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 54,277.3% during 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 in the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

Shares of MLM opened at $465.23 on Friday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $448.50 and a twelve month high of $633.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $514.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $541.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.37 billion, a PE ratio of 14.39, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

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

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is currently 9.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on MLM. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $670.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. BNP Paribas cut Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays dropped their price target 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $559.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.36.

Insider Activity at Martin Marietta Materials

In related news, SVP Michael J. Petro bought 550 shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 8,985 shares in the company, valued at $4,082,514.45. This represents a 6.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total value of $632,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,673,425. The trade was a 27.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.