Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) Shares Bought by Prosperity Financial Group Inc.

Prosperity Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 19.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 567 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MLM. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 76.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,628,701 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $876,648,000 after buying an additional 704,460 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 615 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $269,000. Patron Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 535 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 136,970 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $73,724,000 after buying an additional 2,066 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

MLM stock opened at $464.59 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $516.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $542.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.33 billion, a PE ratio of 14.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $448.50 and a 1 year high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.17. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 12.11% and a net margin of 30.54%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is 9.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Michael J. Petro purchased 550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $454.37 per share, for a total transaction of $249,903.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,082,514.45. This trade represents a 6.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total value of $632,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,523 shares in the company, valued at $1,673,425. This trade represents a 27.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MLM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $559.00 price target for the company. Stephens cut their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $515.00 to $640.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. BNP Paribas lowered Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $657.00 to $622.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.36.

Martin Marietta Materials Company 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.