Analysts Set Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) Price Target at $681.53

Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $670.00.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $737.00 to $690.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Berenberg Bank set a $556.00 target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MLM. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 51.8% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,448,928 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,524,853,000 after buying an additional 836,120 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter worth $354,681,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 31.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,340,677 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,284,938,000 after purchasing an additional 565,856 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 241.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 303,031 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $188,686,000 after purchasing an additional 214,270 shares during the period. Finally, Interval Partners LP bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter worth $128,996,000. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

NYSE MLM opened at $555.80 on Friday. Martin Marietta Materials has a one year low of $523.48 and a one year high of $710.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $577.74 and a 200 day moving average of $605.38. The company has a market capitalization of $33.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.41.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $5.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 36.73%.Martin Marietta Materials’s revenue was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.43 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials will post 19.52 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is presently 8.16%.

About Martin Marietta Materials

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc (NYSE: MLM) is a leading producer of aggregates and heavy building materials serving the construction and infrastructure markets. The company operates quarries, sand and gravel pits, and other extraction sites to supply crushed stone, sand and gravel, and a range of value‑added products for use in roads, bridges, commercial and residential construction, and other civil engineering projects.

In addition to its core aggregates business, Martin Marietta manufactures and sells asphalt, ready‑mixed concrete and related materials and services.