Loop Capital Cuts Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Price Target to $615.00

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) had its price target reduced by Loop Capital from $645.00 to $615.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the construction company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays lowered their price target 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. Stephens decreased their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $657.00 to $622.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. HSBC raised Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $690.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $701.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $626.50.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 1.6 %

Martin Marietta Materials stock opened at $484.77 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $501.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $537.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.99, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. Martin Marietta Materials has a 1-year low of $448.50 and a 1-year high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.17. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.54% and a return on equity of 12.11%. On average, analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total value of $632,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,673,425. This represents a 27.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael J. Petro acquired 550 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $454.37 per share, for a total transaction of $249,903.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,082,514.45. This represents a 6.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Martin Marietta Materials

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MLM. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 91.9% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 71 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

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.