Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Grows Holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,319 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 91.9% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 71 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $559.00 target price on the stock. 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. Stephens dropped 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. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $680.00 to $645.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $628.64.

Insider Activity

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

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

Shares of MLM stock opened at $477.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $511.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $539.18. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $448.50 and a 12 month high of $633.23. The company has a market capitalization of $29.11 billion, a PE ratio of 14.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 30.54% and a return on equity of 12.11%. Analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.77%.

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.