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 research report sent to investors on Monday.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on MLM. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $610.00 to $657.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $595.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $658.00 to $646.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock 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 on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Thursday, November 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $730.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $644.46.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock opened at $593.22 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $572.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $555.91. The stock has a market cap of $36.26 billion, a PE ratio of 18.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.07 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. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its earnings results 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). Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 12.53% and a net margin of 30.47%. The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials will post 17.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 664 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,126 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 782 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 167 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFG Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 555 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.