Nordea Investment Management AB Reduces Stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Nordea Investment Management AB lowered its position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,692 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 3,034 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $6,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MLM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,955,139 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,622,254,000 after purchasing an additional 10,445 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,825,325 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,550,990,000 after buying an additional 56,353 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 31.9% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,340,677 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,284,938,000 after buying an additional 565,856 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 0.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,520,932 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $831,331,000 after buying an additional 4,666 shares during the period. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 4.2% during the second quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 802,351 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $440,459,000 after buying an additional 32,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of MLM opened at $652.35 on Friday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $441.95 and a fifty-two week high of $668.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.97. The company’s fifty day moving average is $626.04 and its 200 day moving average is $612.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.34 billion, a PE ratio of 34.39 and a beta of 1.15.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The construction company reported $5.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.62 by ($0.65). Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 11.68% and a net margin of 17.34%.The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MLM. Wall Street Zen cut Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $725.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $670.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $660.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $670.63.

About Martin Marietta Materials

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc (NYSE: MLM) is a leading producer of aggregates and heavy building materials serving the construction and infrastructure markets. The company operates quarries, sand and gravel pits, and other extraction sites to supply crushed stone, sand and gravel, and a range of value‑added products for use in roads, bridges, commercial and residential construction, and other civil engineering projects.

In addition to its core aggregates business, Martin Marietta manufactures and sells asphalt, ready‑mixed concrete and related materials and services.