Zacks Research Analysts Raise Earnings Estimates for Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) – Research analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for Martin Marietta Materials in a report issued on Monday, April 8th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the construction company will post earnings per share of $6.14 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $6.10. The consensus estimate for Martin Marietta Materials’ current full-year earnings is $21.09 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Martin Marietta Materials’ Q4 2024 earnings at $4.92 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $20.46 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $5.34 EPS.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on MLM. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $610.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup increased their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $635.00 to $708.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Wolfe Research cut Martin Marietta Materials from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $505.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $376.00 to $543.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $577.38.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Martin Marietta Materials stock opened at $607.08 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $578.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $502.34. Martin Marietta Materials has a 52-week low of $343.71 and a 52-week high of $626.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 3.35 and a quick ratio of 2.50.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The construction company reported $4.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.67. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 17.25%. Martin Marietta Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.04 EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MLM. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the first quarter worth $46,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 391,276 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $150,599,000 after buying an additional 15,163 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 0.4% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 9,391 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,615,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter worth about $456,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 12.8% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 950 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $366,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Martin Marietta Materials

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, EVP Roselyn R. Bar sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $603.29, for a total transaction of $6,032,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,179,301.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Martin Marietta Materials news, EVP Roselyn R. Bar sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $603.29, for a total value of $6,032,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,179,301.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sue W. Cole sold 1,724 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $543.48, for a total transaction of $936,959.52. Following the sale, the director now owns 19,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,757,099.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,724 shares of company stock worth $16,033,760 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 15.72%.

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.