Brokerages Set Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) PT at $697.13

Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $696.8750.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $631.00 to $612.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $785.00 price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $706.00 to $702.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $690.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $637.00 to $681.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 0.4%

Martin Marietta Materials stock opened at $612.67 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $656.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $633.23. Martin Marietta Materials has a 1-year low of $441.95 and a 1-year high of $710.97. The company has a market cap of $36.95 billion, a PE ratio of 32.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 3.57 and a quick ratio of 2.36.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $4.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.81 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 10.86% and a net margin of 17.38%.The company’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is currently 17.66%.

Institutional Trading of Martin Marietta Materials

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 321.8% in the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 3,817 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,406,000 after acquiring an additional 2,912 shares during the last quarter. Atika Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 30.4% during the second quarter. Atika Capital Management LLC now owns 72,533 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $39,818,000 after purchasing an additional 16,900 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.0% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 84,820 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $53,460,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 78.5% in the third quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,008 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,048,000 after purchasing an additional 3,522 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the third quarter valued at $1,605,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

About Martin Marietta Materials

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc (NYSE: MLM) is a leading producer of aggregates and heavy building materials serving the construction and infrastructure markets. The company operates quarries, sand and gravel pits, and other extraction sites to supply crushed stone, sand and gravel, and a range of value?added products for use in roads, bridges, commercial and residential construction, and other civil engineering projects.

In addition to its core aggregates business, Martin Marietta manufactures and sells asphalt, ready?mixed concrete and related materials and services.