Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $588.69.

MLM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $505.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $635.00 to $708.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $642.00 to $737.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $595.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $600.00 price target (up from $530.00) on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Friday, March 22nd.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

MLM opened at $590.86 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $596.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $520.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a current ratio of 3.35. Martin Marietta Materials has a 52 week low of $361.33 and a 52 week high of $626.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.47 billion, a PE ratio of 31.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.96.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.05. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 17.25% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.16 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials will post 21.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.72%.

Insider Transactions at Martin Marietta Materials

In other news, EVP Roselyn R. Bar sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $603.29, for a total transaction of $6,032,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,179,301.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Sue W. Cole sold 1,724 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $543.48, for a total value of $936,959.52. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,757,099.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Roselyn R. Bar sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $603.29, for a total transaction of $6,032,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 59,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,179,301.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,724 shares of company stock worth $16,033,760 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Schear Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 1,647 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $822,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,170 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 152 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 460 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 810 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

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.