Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM)

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 2,062 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,450% compared to the typical volume of 133 call options.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Up 0.8%

MLM stock traded up $4.64 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $573.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 122,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 539,603. The company has a market cap of $34.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $580.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $614.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Martin Marietta Materials has a 12 month low of $525.38 and a 12 month high of $710.97.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 10.27% and a net margin of 38.67%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials will post 19.38 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is presently 7.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MLM. Lido Advisors LLC increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 424 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 67 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 495 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,186 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,361,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $710.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $615.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, B. Riley Financial upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $700.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $682.41.

About Martin Marietta Materials

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc (NYSE: MLM) is a leading producer of aggregates and heavy building materials serving the construction and infrastructure markets. The company operates quarries, sand and gravel pits, and other extraction sites to supply crushed stone, sand and gravel, and a range of value?added products for use in roads, bridges, commercial and residential construction, and other civil engineering projects.

In addition to its core aggregates business, Martin Marietta manufactures and sells asphalt, ready?mixed concrete and related materials and services.