Franklin Resources Inc. Decreases Holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 506,066 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 21,902 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.84% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $318,963,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 6.6% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 794 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 11.4% during 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 raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 11.1% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 181 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 73.2% in the 2nd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 781 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on MLM. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $785.00 target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $630.00 price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Zacks Research lowered Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, B. Riley Financial started coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Thursday, January 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $700.00 target price for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $696.88.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Shares of MLM stock opened at $597.39 on Thursday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $441.95 and a 52-week high of $710.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 3.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $36.03 billion, a PE ratio of 31.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $655.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $632.98.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $4.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.81 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 17.38% and a return on equity of 10.86%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.79 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

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

Martin Marietta Materials 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.