Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (MLM): Hedge Funds Are Bullish and Insiders Are Bearish, What Should You Do?

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) was in 25 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. MLM investors should be aware of an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds lately. There were 24 hedge funds in our database with MLM holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

To the average investor, there are tons of methods investors can use to track stocks. Some of the best are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can outclass the market by a very impressive amount (see just how much).

Equally as key, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the financial markets. As the old adage goes: there are a number of reasons for an executive to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if piggybackers understand where to look (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a glance at the recent action surrounding Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM).

What does the smart money think about Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)?

At Q1’s end, a total of 25 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 4% from the first quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes significantly.

When looking at the hedgies we track, First Eagle Investment Management, managed by Jean-Marie Eveillard, holds the largest position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM). First Eagle Investment Management has a $247.5 million position in the stock, comprising 0.8% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Southeastern Asset Management, managed by Mason Hawkins, which held a $220.8 million position; the fund has 1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies that are bullish include John H. Scully’s SPO Advisory Corp, Tom Russo’s Gardner Russo & Gardner and Wallace Weitz’s Wallace R. Weitz & Co..

As one would reasonably expect, specific money managers have been driving this bullishness. Sigma Capital Management, managed by SAC Subsidiary, initiated the largest position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM). Sigma Capital Management had 33.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Ken Grossman and Glen Schneider’s SG Capital Management also made a $5.7 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new MLM investors: Alexander Mitchell’s Scopus Asset Management, Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates, and Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies.

What have insiders been doing with Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)?

Insider buying is best served when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last six-month time period, Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 9 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM). These stocks are USG Corporation (NYSE:USG), Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS), Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC), Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (NYSE:AWI), and Owens Corning (NYSE:OC). This group of stocks belong to the general building materials industry and their market caps are similar to MLM’s market cap.