Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.79 (NYSE:MLM)

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, November 8th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of 0.79 per share by the construction company on Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd.

Martin Marietta Materials has increased its dividend payment by an average of 7.7% annually over the last three years. Martin Marietta Materials has a dividend payout ratio of 14.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Martin Marietta Materials to earn $21.10 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.0%.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

MLM stock traded up $3.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $620.21. 250,241 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 447,579. 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 moving average price is $547.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $556.58. The stock has a market cap of $37.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.23, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.90. Martin Marietta Materials has a fifty-two week low of $448.73 and a fifty-two week high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $5.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.94 EPS. Martin Marietta Materials’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials will post 17.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MLM. StockNews.com lowered Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $595.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $730.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $560.00 to $515.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.85.

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.