Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Rating Increased to Overweight at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research note published on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $640.00 price target on the construction company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $515.00.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $658.00 to $646.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $700.00 to $670.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Loop Capital upped their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $610.00 to $657.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $644.46.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

MLM opened at $595.35 on Wednesday. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $569.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $556.36. The company has a market capitalization of $36.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.55, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.90. Martin Marietta Materials has a 12-month low of $456.83 and a 12-month high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $5.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.41 by ($0.50). The business had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.47% and a return on equity of 12.53%. Martin Marietta Materials’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.94 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials will post 17.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 534,801 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $295,397,000 after buying an additional 9,908 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 8.0% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 10,021 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,394,000 after acquiring an additional 741 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 89.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,008 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,310,000 after purchasing an additional 3,778 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $197,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 8,220 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,914,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286 shares in the last quarter. 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.