Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Price Target Raised to $680.00

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) had its target price increased by Loop Capital from $600.00 to $680.00 in a research report report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on MLM. Stephens lowered their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group cut 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 research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $610.00 to $657.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. BNP Paribas raised Martin Marietta Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $626.92.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 2.1 %

MLM opened at $580.14 on Thursday. Martin Marietta Materials has a 1-year low of $438.53 and a 1-year high of $626.67. The business has a 50 day moving average of $541.37 and a 200-day moving average of $555.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08, a P/E/G ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released 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 net margin of 30.47% and a return on equity of 12.53%. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.94 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials will post 18.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is an increase from Martin Marietta Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MLM. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 411.1% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 1,300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 56 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 186.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 63 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.