Wealthfront Advisers LLC Buys 92,030 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 2,260.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 96,101 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 92,030 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $49,636,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 23.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,678,425 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,441,663,000 after purchasing an additional 506,705 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,515,441 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,353,936,000 after purchasing an additional 334,605 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,819,744 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $939,898,000 after purchasing an additional 191,043 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,562,146 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $808,005,000 after purchasing an additional 148,065 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 54,277.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 918,432 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $474,370,000 after buying an additional 916,743 shares during the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, SVP Michael J. Petro purchased 550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $454.37 per share, with a total value of $249,903.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president now owns 8,985 shares in the company, valued at $4,082,514.45. This represents a 6.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 3,523 shares in the company, valued at $1,673,425. The trade was a 27.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MLM opened at $467.37 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $28.50 billion, a PE ratio of 14.46, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average of $517.81 and a 200-day moving average of $542.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $448.50 and a 12-month high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 9.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $515.00 to $640.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. HSBC raised Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $690.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $670.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.36.

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.