North Dakota State Investment Board Buys Shares of 2,056 Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 2,056 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,280,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,442,945 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,691,139,000 after acquiring an additional 93,595 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,365,832 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,491,136,000 after purchasing an additional 25,155 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,204,425 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,389,428,000 after purchasing an additional 192,637 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 411,482 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $259,344,000 after purchasing an additional 5,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 352,294 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $222,044,000 after buying an additional 4,071 shares during the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

MLM stock opened at $533.45 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 2.28. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $525.38 and a 52 week high of $710.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $596.46 and its 200 day moving average is $624.44. The firm has a market cap of $32.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.13.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.15. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 38.67% and a return on equity of 10.27%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MLM. B. Riley Financial raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $700.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Raymond James Financial set a $690.00 price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group set a $739.00 price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $785.00 price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $689.81.

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.