Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM Shares Bought by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 6.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 16,881 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $9,938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 794 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 11.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,408 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $673,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 11.1% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 510 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 205.9% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 260 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 22.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 777 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MLM. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $615.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings raised Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Berenberg Bank set a $556.00 target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $702.00 to $664.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $681.53.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 2.4%

Martin Marietta Materials stock opened at $569.77 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $34.21 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.28 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $577.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $608.68. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $525.38 and a 1-year high of $710.97.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.15. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 10.27% and a net margin of 38.67%.The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

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

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.