Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning.

MLM has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $635.00 to $708.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. HSBC upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a reduce rating to a hold rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $376.00 to $543.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Stephens boosted their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $575.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $621.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an overweight rating and a $595.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $588.69.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:MLM opened at $590.86 on Wednesday. Martin Marietta Materials has a 12-month low of $361.33 and a 12-month high of $626.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 3.35 and a quick ratio of 2.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $596.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $520.00.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.05. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 17.25%. The business had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials will post 21.3 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.72%.

Insider Transactions at Martin Marietta Materials

In other news, Director Sue W. Cole sold 1,724 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $543.48, for a total transaction of $936,959.52. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 19,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,757,099.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Roselyn R. Bar sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $603.29, for a total transaction of $6,032,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,179,301.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sue W. Cole sold 1,724 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $543.48, for a total value of $936,959.52. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 19,793 shares in the company, valued at $10,757,099.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,724 shares of company stock valued at $16,033,760 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Schear Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 37.8% during the first quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,270 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,394,000 after buying an additional 623 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 182.5% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 73,135 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $44,901,000 after buying an additional 47,250 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 24.3% during the first quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 557 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in 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 valued at $754,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter valued at $209,000. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.