Allianz SE Purchases Shares of 460 Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Allianz SE acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 460 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,174,183 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,705,466,000 after buying an additional 36,531 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 23.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,678,425 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,441,663,000 after acquiring an additional 506,705 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,819,744 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $939,898,000 after acquiring an additional 191,043 shares during the period. Amundi raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,562,146 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $808,005,000 after purchasing an additional 148,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 54,277.3% during the 4th 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

NYSE:MLM opened at $478.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $29.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $448.50 and a 12-month high of $633.23. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $505.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $538.52.

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, beating 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 expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Martin Marietta Materials

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MLM has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Stephens cut their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $680.00 to $645.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $628.64.

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.