Brokerages Set Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) PT at $634.85

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $634.85.

A number of research analysts recently commented on MLM shares. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $560.00 to $515.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Thursday, November 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $730.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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 research report on Wednesday, October 9th.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

MLM stock opened at $583.03 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $35.63 billion, a PE ratio of 18.17, a P/E/G ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $555.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $557.02. Martin Marietta Materials has a 52-week low of $451.37 and a 52-week high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $5.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.41 by ($0.50). The company had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.47% and a return on equity of 12.53%. The company’s revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.94 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials will post 17.84 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 paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is currently 9.85%.

Institutional Trading of Martin Marietta Materials

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 76.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,628,701 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $876,648,000 after acquiring an additional 704,460 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 114.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 980,699 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $602,092,000 after buying an additional 523,038 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 15.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,515,441 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,353,936,000 after buying an additional 334,605 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 7,608.2% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 181,373 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $97,624,000 after buying an additional 179,020 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 54.2% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 467,782 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $251,784,000 after acquiring an additional 164,503 shares during the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by 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.