Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $560.00 to $515.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $610.00 to $657.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.85.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

MLM opened at $597.81 on Thursday. 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 has a 12-month low of $456.83 and a 12-month high of $633.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $565.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $556.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.90.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 12.53% and a net margin of 30.47%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.94 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials will post 17.84 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Martin Marietta Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.8% during the second quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 664 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 782 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 167 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFG Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.