Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Reaches New 52-Week Low Following Insider Selling

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $448.50 and last traded at $452.98, with a volume of 333928 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $475.91.

Specifically, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total transaction of $632,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,673,425. This represents a 27.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $657.00 to $622.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.36.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 3.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $28.11 billion, a PE ratio of 14.26, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $518.87 and its 200-day moving average is $543.22.

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

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 2.5% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 782 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $690,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,020 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 3.6% during the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 570 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 447 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

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.