Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lowered its stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,438 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 905 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $4,631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MLM. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 66.7% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,316 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,801,000 after buying an additional 3,728 shares during the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter worth $252,000. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,002 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $624,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 468 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 44,209 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,527,000 after purchasing an additional 3,903 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $780.00 to $804.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $785.00 price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $706.00 to $702.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $690.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $696.88.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 3.1%

Martin Marietta Materials stock opened at $578.22 on Tuesday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $441.95 and a fifty-two week high of $710.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $645.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $631.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 2.36 and a current ratio of 3.57.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $4.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.81 by ($0.19). Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 10.86% and a net margin of 17.38%.The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.79 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is presently 17.66%.

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.