Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Reaches New 1-Year Low on Insider Selling

Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) reached a new 52-week low on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $448.50 and last traded at $452.98, with a volume of 333928 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $475.91.

Specifically, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total value of $632,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,673,425. The trade was a 27.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MLM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Stephens decreased 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. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $680.00 to $645.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $559.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.36.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 4.7 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $520.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $543.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.17. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.54% and a return on equity of 12.11%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.77%.

Institutional Trading of Martin Marietta Materials

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the third quarter worth $33,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. 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.