Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) PT Raised to $650.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) had its price target increased by Stifel Nicolaus from $621.00 to $650.00 in a research report report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the construction company’s stock.

MLM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Monday, January 8th. They set an overweight rating and a $595.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $505.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a neutral rating and set a $600.00 target price (up from $530.00) on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $581.38.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

MLM opened at $599.24 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 3.35 and a quick ratio of 2.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $580.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $505.01. Martin Marietta Materials has a 1 year low of $343.79 and a 1 year high of $626.67. The company has a market capitalization of $37.05 billion, a PE ratio of 31.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.96.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The construction company reported $4.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.67. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 17.25% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.04 earnings per share. Martin Marietta Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials will post 21.09 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter worth $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 144.4% during the third quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 66 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. 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.