Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $681.9412.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. B. Riley Financial raised Martin Marietta Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $700.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Berenberg Bank set a $556.00 target price on Martin Marietta Materials and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Raymond James Financial set a $690.00 target price on Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $702.00 to $664.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Down 2.2%

NYSE:MLM opened at $590.40 on Thursday. Martin Marietta Materials has a 52 week low of $525.38 and a 52 week high of $710.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $589.25 and a 200 day moving average of $618.41.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 38.67% and a return on equity of 10.27%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials will post 19.41 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, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is presently 7.91%.

Institutional Trading of Martin Marietta Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MLM. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 51.8% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,448,928 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,524,853,000 after purchasing an additional 836,120 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $354,681,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 31.9% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,340,677 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,284,938,000 after buying an additional 565,856 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 241.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 303,031 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $188,686,000 after acquiring an additional 214,270 shares during the period. Finally, Interval Partners LP acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $128,996,000. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Martin Marietta Materials

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc (NYSE: MLM) is a leading producer of aggregates and heavy building materials serving the construction and infrastructure markets. The company operates quarries, sand and gravel pits, and other extraction sites to supply crushed stone, sand and gravel, and a range of value‑added products for use in roads, bridges, commercial and residential construction, and other civil engineering projects.

In addition to its core aggregates business, Martin Marietta manufactures and sells asphalt, ready‑mixed concrete and related materials and services.