Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM Shares Sold by Praxis Investment Management Inc.

Praxis Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 18.3% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 760 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 170 shares during the period. Praxis Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the first quarter worth about $30,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the first quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 193.9% in the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 97 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Up 0.3%

MLM stock opened at $625.84 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $619.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $568.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $441.95 and a 52-week high of $665.18. The firm has a market cap of $37.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.71, a PEG ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 1.01.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The construction company reported $5.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.44 by ($0.01). Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 16.47%.The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Martin Marietta Materials has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This is an increase from Martin Marietta Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.41%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $613.32, for a total transaction of $636,626.16. Following the sale, the director directly owned 15,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,455,554.44. This represents a 6.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MLM shares. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $625.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Martin Marietta Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Martin Marietta Materials to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $577.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $621.69.

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.