Blueshift Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 22.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,024 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $551,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 411.1% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1,300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 56 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 186.4% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 63 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter worth about $41,000. 95.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

MLM stock opened at $595.35 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $569.17 and a 200-day moving average of $556.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.90. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $456.83 and a 12 month high of $633.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $5.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.41 by ($0.50). The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.47% and a return on equity of 12.53%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.94 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 17.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MLM. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $610.00 to $657.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $658.00 to $646.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $700.00 to $670.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $644.46.

Martin Marietta Materials Profile

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.