Rathbones Group PLC Sells 1,299 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Rathbones Group PLC lessened its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 203,953 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,299 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $97,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter worth $29,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter worth $30,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the first quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 193.9% in the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 97 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 1.7%

MLM opened at $600.56 on Tuesday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $441.95 and a 1-year high of $633.23. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $562.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $528.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $36.22 billion, a PE ratio of 33.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.58 and a beta of 0.89.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The construction company reported $5.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.44 by ($0.01). Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.76 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $613.32, for a total value of $636,626.16. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,455,554.44. This represents a 6.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $525.00 price target (up previously from $515.00) on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Bank of America raised their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $577.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $576.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $620.88.

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.