King Luther Capital Management Corp Sells 2,043 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

King Luther Capital Management Corp decreased its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 0.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 717,845 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,043 shares during the quarter. Martin Marietta Materials accounts for approximately 1.7% of King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned 1.17% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $386,380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MLM. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 76.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,628,701 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $876,648,000 after acquiring an additional 704,460 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 114.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 980,699 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $602,092,000 after acquiring an additional 523,038 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 54.2% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 467,782 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $251,784,000 after buying an additional 164,503 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 247.5% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 148,827 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $80,634,000 after purchasing an additional 106,002 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 682.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 75,045 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $40,393,000 after buying an additional 65,454 shares during the period. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of MLM stock opened at $585.26 on Thursday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $456.83 and a 52-week high of $633.23. The stock has a market cap of $35.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $560.58 and its 200-day moving average is $556.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 2.34.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $5.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.41 by ($0.50). The business had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.47% and a return on equity of 12.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.94 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 17.84 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is currently 9.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $658.00 to $646.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $595.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $560.00 to $515.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.85.

About Martin Marietta Materials

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.