Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) to Issue $0.79 Quarterly Dividend

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 15th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of 0.79 per share by the construction company on Monday, June 30th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%.

Martin Marietta Materials has raised its dividend by an average of 9.0% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 9 consecutive years. Martin Marietta Materials has a payout ratio of 14.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Martin Marietta Materials to earn $21.61 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 14.6%.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 2.2%

Martin Marietta Materials stock opened at $552.87 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $33.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.10, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. Martin Marietta Materials has a 52-week low of $441.95 and a 52-week high of $633.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $497.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $528.88.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.02. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.54% and a return on equity of 12.11%. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on MLM. UBS Group downgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $491.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Martin Marietta Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $615.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $559.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Martin Marietta Materials from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $640.00 to $560.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $599.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Michael J. Petro acquired 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, with a total value of $249,903.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president now owns 8,985 shares in the company, valued at $4,082,514.45. This trade represents a 6.52% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly 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. Insiders own 0.69% 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.