Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Increases Stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 49.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,863 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 952 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $1,541,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1,300.0% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 56 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 186.4% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 63 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the first quarter valued at $41,000. 95.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

Shares of MLM stock opened at $585.26 on Thursday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $456.83 and a fifty-two week high of $633.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a PEG ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 2.34. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $560.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $556.31.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $5.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.41 by ($0.50). Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 12.53% and a net margin of 30.47%. The business 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. Martin Marietta Materials’s revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 17.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. BNP Paribas upgraded Martin Marietta Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $658.00 to $646.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $560.00 to $515.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.85.

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.