Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM Stock: Renaissance Investment Group LLC Trims Position

Renaissance Investment Group LLC lowered its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 81.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,737 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 7,627 shares during the period. Renaissance Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1,633.3% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 52 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 370.0% during the 2nd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 47 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 67.9% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 47 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1,900.0% in the 3rd quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GK Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the third quarter worth $32,000. 95.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of MLM stock opened at $541.03 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $502.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $576.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.41. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $464.92 and a twelve month high of $710.97. The company has a market capitalization of $32.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.90, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.08.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $5.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.24. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 36.73%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 16.29 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st were paid a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. This is an increase from Martin Marietta Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is presently 8.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MLM has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Martin Marietta Materials to an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $690.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. DA Davidson raised Martin Marietta Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $610.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $715.00 to $662.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $639.59.

Martin Marietta Materials Company Profile

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc is a supplier of construction materials serving the infrastructure, commercial, residential and industrial markets. The company’s primary business is aggregates, including crushed stone, sand and gravel used in roads, bridges, buildings and other construction projects.

Martin Marietta also produces cement, ready-mixed concrete and asphalt products, and provides paving and related construction services in selected markets. Through its Magnesia Specialties business, the company manufactures magnesium-based and dolomitic lime products used in industrial, environmental and agricultural applications.

Headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, Martin Marietta Materials became an independent publicly traded company in 1993 following a spin-off from Martin Marietta Corporation.