Brokerages Set Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) Price Target at $653.08

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $653.08.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MLM. UBS Group initiated coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Thursday, November 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $730.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target 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. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $690.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MLM. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,126 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.5% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 782 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co increased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 3.0% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 680 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 3.6% during the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 570 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 1,123 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MLM opened at $516.67 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $570.99 and its 200-day moving average is $552.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 2.34. Martin Marietta Materials has a 52 week low of $482.01 and a 52 week high of $633.23. The company has a market capitalization of $31.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.89.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $5.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.41 by ($0.50). The firm 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%. Martin Marietta Materials’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials will post 17.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.85%.

About Martin Marietta Materials

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.