Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 605,713 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 99.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,426 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 605,713 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $1,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 411.1% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 1,300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 56 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 186.4% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 63 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter valued at about $41,000. 95.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MLM shares. Barclays increased their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $595.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $730.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $644.46.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 0.3 %

Martin Marietta Materials stock opened at $595.35 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $569.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $556.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.55, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.90. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $456.83 and a 1-year high of $633.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $5.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.41 by ($0.50). Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.47% and a return on equity of 12.53%. The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 17.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.85%.

About Martin Marietta Materials

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.