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

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) has earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $634.36.

A number of analysts have weighed in on MLM shares. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. HSBC upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $690.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Loop Capital cut their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $680.00 to $645.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $559.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $701.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Martin Marietta Materials stock opened at $489.30 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $513.52 and a 200-day moving average of $540.64. Martin Marietta Materials has a 1 year low of $448.50 and a 1 year high of $633.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $29.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.13, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.17. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.54% and a return on equity of 12.11%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Martin Marietta Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 25,242 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $13,037,000 after purchasing an additional 3,384 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 18.5% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 8,220 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286 shares in the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 431.3% during the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 2,391 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after acquiring an additional 1,941 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2,448.1% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,376 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $741,000 after acquiring an additional 1,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, InTrack Investment Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc now owns 3,446 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,784,000 after acquiring an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

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.