Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Increases Position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 20.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 31,872 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,414 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $15,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Down 0.5%

MLM opened at $609.68 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $567.83 and its 200-day moving average is $530.81. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $441.95 and a 52-week high of $633.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

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

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Martin Marietta Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is presently 17.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on MLM. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $576.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $625.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $609.00 to $637.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $525.00 target price (up from $515.00) on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Five 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $622.63.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $613.32, for a total value of $636,626.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,455,554.44. The trade was a 6.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.