Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Friday morning.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on MLM. Citigroup dropped their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $658.00 to $646.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $610.00 to $657.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $730.00 price target on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.85.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

NYSE:MLM traded up $2.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $619.58. The company had a trading volume of 402,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 466,622. Martin Marietta Materials has a one year low of $448.73 and a one year high of $633.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $549.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $556.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.87 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is presently 9.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MLM. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 411.1% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 1,300.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 56 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 186.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 63 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

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.