Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Upgraded to “Outperform” at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $563.00 price objective on the construction company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on MLM. BNP Paribas cut shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $657.00 to $622.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $643.36.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 1.7 %

MLM stock opened at $517.31 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $566.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $551.64. Martin Marietta Materials has a twelve month low of $488.30 and a twelve month high of $633.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.62 billion, a PE ratio of 16.12, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.91. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $5.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.41 by ($0.50). The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion during 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%. Martin Marietta Materials’s revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials will post 17.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MLM. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 411.1% during the second 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 during the period. Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 1,300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 56 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Tobam grew its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 38.8% in the third quarter. Tobam now owns 93 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.