Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) Receives $634.36 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $628.64.

A number of analysts have issued reports on MLM shares. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $559.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James reduced 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. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Michael J. Petro acquired 550 shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $454.37 per share, for a total transaction of $249,903.50. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,082,514.45. This trade represents a 6.52 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,673,425. This represents a 27.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Martin Marietta Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MLM. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 448 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. 111 Capital purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $221,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,654 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,887,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 28,559 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $14,751,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 1,508 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $785,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MLM opened at $490.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $29.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.17, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $510.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $539.41. Martin Marietta Materials has a fifty-two week low of $448.50 and a fifty-two week high of $633.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.50.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 12.11% and a net margin of 30.54%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.77%.

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.