Allstate Corp Buys 2,201 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Allstate Corp grew its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 91.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,614 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,201 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $2,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MLM. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 31.9% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,340,677 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,284,938,000 after buying an additional 565,856 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 9.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,204,425 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,389,428,000 after buying an additional 192,637 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1,570.3% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 108,167 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $68,175,000 after buying an additional 115,524 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 748.5% during the third quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP now owns 124,963 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $78,762,000 after buying an additional 110,236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,442,945 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,691,139,000 after buying an additional 93,595 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of MLM opened at $575.23 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $590.81 and its 200 day moving average is $621.63. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $525.38 and a fifty-two week high of $710.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.54 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 2.28.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.15. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 38.67% and a return on equity of 10.27%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. Martin Marietta Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is currently 7.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MLM shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $785.00 price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. DA Davidson set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group set a $739.00 price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $690.00 price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $689.81.

Martin Marietta Materials Company Profile

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc (NYSE: MLM) is a leading producer of aggregates and heavy building materials serving the construction and infrastructure markets. The company operates quarries, sand and gravel pits, and other extraction sites to supply crushed stone, sand and gravel, and a range of value‑added products for use in roads, bridges, commercial and residential construction, and other civil engineering projects.

In addition to its core aggregates business, Martin Marietta manufactures and sells asphalt, ready‑mixed concrete and related materials and services.