Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $627.93 and last traded at $619.28, with a volume of 99243 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $582.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MLM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $560.00 to $515.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $595.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $658.00 to $646.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.85.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 0.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $37.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $547.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $556.58. 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 results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.47% and a return on equity of 12.53%. Martin Marietta Materials’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.94 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 17.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.85%.

Institutional Trading of Martin Marietta Materials

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $209,000. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.1% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,227 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $754,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.7% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,271 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,619,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,257 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,386,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,637 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,461,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147 shares in the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.