Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Upgraded at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) was upgraded by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $640.00 price objective on the construction company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $515.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 7.22% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley increased 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 note on Monday, August 26th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $730.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of 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. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $658.00 to $646.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $644.46.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Shares of MLM opened at $596.93 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 2.34. The company has a market capitalization of $36.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $567.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $556.08. Martin Marietta Materials has a 1 year low of $456.83 and a 1 year high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.47% and a return on equity of 12.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.94 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials will post 17.58 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 10,021 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,394,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 89.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,008 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,310,000 after purchasing an additional 3,778 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $197,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 8,220 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $2,975,000. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.