Norges Bank Buys New Shares in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 594,121 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $306,863,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 91.9% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 71 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael J. Petro acquired 550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $454.37 per share, with a total value of $249,903.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,082,514.45. The trade was a 6.52 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 3,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,673,425. This represents a 27.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 1.3 %

Martin Marietta Materials stock opened at $477.92 on Friday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $448.50 and a fifty-two week high of $633.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $507.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $538.56. The stock has a market cap of $29.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.78, 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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Martin Marietta Materials from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $640.00 to $560.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Martin Marietta Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. BNP Paribas downgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Martin Marietta Materials from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $563.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.