Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $628.64.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James cut their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $559.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $563.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

MLM opened at $490.51 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $29.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $510.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $539.41. Martin Marietta Materials has a 12-month low of $448.50 and a 12-month high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.17. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.54% and a return on equity of 12.11%. Research analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 9.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Martin Marietta Materials

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total transaction of $632,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,673,425. The trade was a 27.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael J. Petro acquired 550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $454.37 per share, for a total transaction of $249,903.50. Following the purchase, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,082,514.45. This trade represents a 6.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MLM. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 76.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,628,701 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $876,648,000 after purchasing an additional 704,460 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 36,031 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $19,394,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.1% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 1,963 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,057,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. ING Groep NV purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the third quarter valued at about $1,601,000. Finally, AMG National Trust Bank boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 16.5% in the third quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 438 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. 95.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.