Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus is “Moderate Buy”: Twelve of 20 brokerages rate Martin Marietta Materials a buy, while seven recommend holding and one recommends selling. The average 12-month price target is $667.53.
• Recent results exceeded expectations: Quarterly EPS came in at $5.00 versus the $4.76 consensus, while revenue rose 21% year over year to $1.95 billion.
• The company raised its dividend: The quarterly payout increased to $0.84 per share, or $3.36 annually, representing a 0.7% yield and an 8.26% payout ratio.

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and twelve have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $667.5294.

MLM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $737.00 to $690.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group reduced their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $739.00 to $715.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $680.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $664.00 to $639.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $610.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Shares of MLM stock opened at $490.70 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $536.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $573.15. Martin Marietta Materials has a one year low of $488.74 and a one year high of $710.97. The stock has a market cap of $29.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $5.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.24. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 36.73% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.43 EPS. Martin Marietta Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials will post 18.69 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Martin Marietta Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Martin Marietta Materials's payout ratio is currently 8.26%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the second quarter worth about $3,650,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 51.8% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,448,928 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,524,853,000 after purchasing an additional 836,120 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 49,559 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $28,581,000 after purchasing an additional 7,772 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 118,981 shares of the construction company's stock worth $68,541,000 after purchasing an additional 7,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 28.1% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 264,117 shares of the construction company's stock worth $155,480,000 after purchasing an additional 57,998 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Company Profile

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of construction aggregates and other building materials. The company produces crushed stone, sand and gravel used in infrastructure, commercial, residential and industrial construction projects.

Its products and services also include cement, ready-mixed concrete, asphalt and paving materials. Martin Marietta serves customers involved in roads, bridges, airports, buildings and other essential infrastructure, with operations concentrated across several regions of the United States.

The company was established in 1993 as an independent, publicly traded materials business formed from the construction materials operations of Martin Marietta Corporation.

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