Griffin Asset Management Inc. Acquires 55 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 2.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,216 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $1,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,787,000. New England Research & Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 2,355 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,126,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders increased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 40.4% in the 1st quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 3,358 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,605,000 after buying an additional 967 shares during the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 28,995 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $13,863,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,072 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 1.9%

NYSE:MLM opened at $541.87 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $32.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.50. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $441.95 and a fifty-two week high of $633.23. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $527.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $523.24.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.54% and a return on equity of 12.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.93 earnings per share. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MLM shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 31st. UBS Group raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $548.00 to $634.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $597.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $615.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $561.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $610.69.

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.