Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $668.6667.

MLM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $725.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $754.00 to $758.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $660.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $670.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Up 4.5%

Shares of MLM stock opened at $667.11 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.97. Martin Marietta Materials has a 52-week low of $441.95 and a 52-week high of $667.66. The company has a market capitalization of $40.23 billion, a PE ratio of 35.17 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s fifty day moving average is $622.28 and its 200 day moving average is $609.25.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The construction company reported $5.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.62 by ($0.65). The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 17.34% and a return on equity of 11.68%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is 17.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,316 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,801,000 after buying an additional 3,728 shares in the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $252,000. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,002 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $624,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 468 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 44,209 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,527,000 after purchasing an additional 3,903 shares in the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Company Profile

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc (NYSE: MLM) is a leading producer of aggregates and heavy building materials serving the construction and infrastructure markets. The company operates quarries, sand and gravel pits, and other extraction sites to supply crushed stone, sand and gravel, and a range of value‑added products for use in roads, bridges, commercial and residential construction, and other civil engineering projects.

In addition to its core aggregates business, Martin Marietta manufactures and sells asphalt, ready‑mixed concrete and related materials and services.