Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Increases Stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,177 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $3,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MLM. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 197,762 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $102,144,000 after buying an additional 4,174 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $415,000. Whittier Trust Co. grew its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 15,647 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,082,000 after acquiring an additional 994 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 38.5% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 572 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 1,958 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,011,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Shares of MLM opened at $477.49 on Friday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $448.50 and a 12 month high of $633.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $511.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $539.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $29.11 billion, a PE ratio of 14.77, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is 9.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael J. Petro acquired 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $454.37 per share, with a total value of $249,903.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 8,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,082,514.45. This trade represents a 6.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total value of $632,700.00. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. HSBC raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $690.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $657.00 to $622.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Martin Marietta Materials from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $640.00 to $560.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens cut their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $628.64.

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.