Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on MLM. Barclays reduced their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $701.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Martin Marietta Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $515.00 to $640.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $657.00 to $622.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $639.43.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of MLM opened at $489.94 on Thursday. Martin Marietta Materials has a 1 year low of $482.72 and a 1 year high of $633.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $531.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $547.49. The firm has a market cap of $29.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.15, a P/E/G ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 0.91.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.17. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.54% and a return on equity of 12.11%. On average, analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MLM. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC lifted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 25,242 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $13,037,000 after buying an additional 3,384 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 8,220 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286 shares in the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders lifted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 431.3% in the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 2,391 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,941 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $734,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 2,448.1% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,376 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,322 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

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.