Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) had its price objective reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $680.00 to $650.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on MLM. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Wolfe Research set a $648.00 price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $715.00 to $662.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $664.00 to $639.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $660.00 target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Friday, July 31st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $644.71.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Martin Marietta Materials stock opened at $492.17 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.12, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $508.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $557.58. Martin Marietta Materials has a 52 week low of $464.92 and a 52 week high of $710.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $5.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.24. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 36.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials will post 17.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were given a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. This is an increase from Martin Marietta Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 1,633.3% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 52 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 9.5% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $818,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Nvwm LLC raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 4.9% in the third quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 1,806 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $867,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 8.7% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,219 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $585,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 429.7% during the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 2,320 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Company Profile

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc is a producer and supplier of construction materials used in infrastructure, commercial, residential, and industrial projects. The company’s principal products include crushed stone, sand, gravel, cement, ready-mixed concrete, asphalt, and related paving materials.

The company serves customers primarily across the United States, with operations concentrated in major markets experiencing demand for transportation infrastructure, building construction, and other development projects.