Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $649.54.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MLM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $515.00 to $640.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $701.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $730.00 price target for the company. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Martin Marietta Materials stock opened at $516.24 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $31.55 billion, a PE ratio of 16.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.91. Martin Marietta Materials has a 12 month low of $485.31 and a 12 month high of $633.23. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $569.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $552.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $5.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.41 by ($0.50). The business had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.47% and a return on equity of 12.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.94 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials will post 17.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is currently 9.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 411.1% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 1,300.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 56 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the second quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Company Profile

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.