Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Downgraded by BNP Paribas to “Hold”

BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $610.00 to $657.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $595.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $515.00 to $640.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $655.77.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of MLM stock opened at $560.43 on Tuesday. Martin Marietta Materials has a twelve month low of $474.92 and a twelve month high of $633.23. The company has a market capitalization of $34.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $577.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $555.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $5.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.41 by ($0.50). The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.47% and a return on equity of 12.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.94 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials will post 17.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 76.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,628,701 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $876,648,000 after purchasing an additional 704,460 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 15.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,515,441 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,353,936,000 after buying an additional 334,605 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 7,608.2% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 181,373 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $97,624,000 after acquiring an additional 179,020 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 54.2% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 467,782 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $251,784,000 after acquiring an additional 164,503 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 247.5% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 148,827 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $80,634,000 after acquiring an additional 106,002 shares in the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.