Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $619.36.

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $615.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $610.00 to $657.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $700.00 to $670.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter worth $628,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 244.9% during the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,014,000 after buying an additional 1,173 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the 1st quarter worth $90,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,350 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,443,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the 1st quarter worth $247,000. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

Shares of MLM opened at $570.21 on Friday. Martin Marietta Materials has a 1-year low of $389.90 and a 1-year high of $626.67. The stock has a market cap of $35.15 billion, a PE ratio of 16.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.62 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $536.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $556.84.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The construction company reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.36 by ($0.60). Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.80% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.60 earnings per share. Martin Marietta Materials’s revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials will post 19.07 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is a positive change from Martin Marietta Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.36%.

Martin Marietta Materials Company Profile

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.