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

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

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on MLM. Stephens lowered their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Barclays raised their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $595.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. 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 report on Wednesday, October 9th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $700.00 to $670.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $658.00 to $646.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.85.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 1.2 %

MLM stock opened at $597.81 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $565.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $556.75. Martin Marietta Materials has a twelve month low of $456.83 and a twelve month high of $633.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.63, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $5.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.41 by ($0.50). Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.47% and a return on equity of 12.53%. The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.94 EPS. Martin Marietta Materials’s revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials will post 17.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 15.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,515,441 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,353,936,000 after purchasing an additional 334,605 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 76.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,628,701 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $876,648,000 after acquiring an additional 704,460 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 114.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 980,699 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $602,092,000 after acquiring an additional 523,038 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 623,681 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $337,903,000 after acquiring an additional 12,759 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 54.2% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 467,782 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $251,784,000 after acquiring an additional 164,503 shares during the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is 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.