StockNews.com Downgrades Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) to Sell

StockNews.com lowered shares of Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on MLM. Barclays upped their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $595.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $657.00 to $622.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $640.00 to $630.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $648.71.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MLM opened at $540.51 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $548.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $551.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 2.34. Martin Marietta Materials has a 52-week low of $490.05 and a 52-week high of $633.23. The company has a market capitalization of $33.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.91.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its earnings results 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). Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.47% and a return on equity of 12.53%. The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.94 EPS. Martin Marietta Materials’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials will post 17.57 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.85%.

Institutional Trading of Martin Marietta Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MLM. Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,126 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.5% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 782 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 3.6% during the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 570 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 447 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. grew its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 1,123 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

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.