Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday morning.

MLM has been the topic of several other reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $658.00 to $646.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $560.00 to $515.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays raised 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. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.85.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:MLM opened at $597.81 on Thursday. Martin Marietta Materials has a 12 month low of $456.83 and a 12 month high of $633.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $565.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $556.75. The stock has a market cap of $36.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.90.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.94 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials will post 17.84 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 411.1% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 186.4% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 63 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

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.