Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MLM has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $560.00 to $515.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $595.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $626.92.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $37.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.15, a PEG ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $543.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $555.73. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $5.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.41 by ($0.50). The business 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 18.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. This is an increase from Martin Marietta Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is presently 9.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MLM. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 76.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,628,701 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $876,648,000 after purchasing an additional 704,460 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 114.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 980,699 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $602,092,000 after buying an additional 523,038 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 54.2% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 467,782 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $251,784,000 after acquiring an additional 164,503 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 247.5% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 148,827 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $80,634,000 after acquiring an additional 106,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter valued at $41,142,000. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.