Stockbridge Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Stockbridge Partners LLC bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 42,450 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,481,000. Martin Marietta Materials comprises about 0.5% of Stockbridge Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MLM. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,706,134,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 51.8% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,448,928 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,524,853,000 after purchasing an additional 836,120 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,399,779 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,412,702,000 after purchasing an additional 21,310 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,364 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $963,406,000 after buying an additional 10,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,367,016 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $851,188,000 after buying an additional 68,382 shares during the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MLM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $616.00 to $581.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wolfe Research set a $648.00 price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. DA Davidson set a $625.00 price objective on Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Monday. Berenberg Bank set a $556.00 target price on Martin Marietta Materials and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $700.00 to $680.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $665.29.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

MLM opened at $532.96 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $568.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $594.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.11. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $522.19 and a 52-week high of $710.97.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $5.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.24. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 36.73% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.07 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.84 dividend. This is an increase from Martin Marietta Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 8.16%.

Martin Marietta Materials Company Profile

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.