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

Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $588.69.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $595.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $600.00 price target (up previously from $530.00) on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $642.00 to $737.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. HSBC raised Martin Marietta Materials from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $376.00 to $543.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Martin Marietta Materials

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, Director Sue W. Cole sold 1,724 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $543.48, for a total transaction of $936,959.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 19,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,757,099.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Roselyn R. Bar sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,179,301.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sue W. Cole sold 1,724 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $10,757,099.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,724 shares of company stock worth $16,033,760 in the last three months. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 144.4% in the 3rd quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 66 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock opened at $605.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.35, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $593.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $515.98. Martin Marietta Materials has a 12 month low of $345.03 and a 12 month high of $626.67.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The construction company reported $4.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.67. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 17.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.04 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials will post 21.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.