Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $635.00 to $708.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $505.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $642.00 to $737.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a neutral rating and issued a $600.00 price objective (up from $530.00) on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Martin Marietta Materials from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $588.69.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock opened at $591.03 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $36.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.95. Martin Marietta Materials has a twelve month low of $384.61 and a twelve month high of $626.67. The company’s fifty day moving average is $598.46 and its 200 day moving average is $522.18. The company has a quick ratio of 2.50, a current ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.05. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 31.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials will post 21.7 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is 8.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, Director Sue W. Cole sold 1,724 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Roselyn R. Bar sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 59,970 shares in the company, valued at $36,179,301.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sue W. Cole sold 1,724 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $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 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Martin Marietta Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MLM. Schear Investment Advisers LLC grew its position 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 worth $822,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,170 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $584,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 152 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 460 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 2.8% in the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 810 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.