Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Hits New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $482.14 and last traded at $483.06, with a volume of 494074 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $491.13.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MLM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $701.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $639.43.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Down 1.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $527.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $546.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.94, a PEG ratio of 4.45 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.17. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 12.11% and a net margin of 30.54%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.