Bank of Nova Scotia Acquires 13,546 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 212.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 19,931 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,546 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $10,941,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MLM. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.5% during the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 75,701 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $41,557,000 after buying an additional 1,844 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 23,784 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $13,057,000 after acquiring an additional 2,161 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.7% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 90,738 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $49,812,000 after purchasing an additional 1,495 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the second quarter worth about $1,442,000. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 22.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 777 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of MLM opened at $623.36 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.86 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $619.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $595.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 2.97 and a quick ratio of 2.07. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $441.95 and a 1 year high of $665.18.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The construction company reported $5.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.62 by ($0.65). Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 17.34% and a return on equity of 11.68%. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is currently 17.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on MLM. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $620.00 to $610.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $705.00 to $723.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. DA Davidson set a $690.00 price target on Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $610.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $645.00.

Martin Marietta Materials 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.