Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Reaches New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares of Martin Marietta Materials hit a 52-week high of $634.84, marking a significant increase in trading activity.
• Recent analyst upgrades have raised the company's target prices, with Bank of America setting a new target of $643.00 and Raymond James increasing theirs to $645.00.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.79 to $0.83 per share, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $634.84 and last traded at $628.53, with a volume of 20113 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $630.28.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MLM. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $577.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $609.00 to $637.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $576.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Monday, August 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $622.63.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Down 0.2%

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $607.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $555.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.92 billion, a PE ratio of 34.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.94.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The construction company reported $5.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.44 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The business's revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.76 earnings per share. Martin Marietta Materials has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from Martin Marietta Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. Martin Marietta Materials's payout ratio is currently 18.41%.

Insider Activity at Martin Marietta Materials

In other news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $613.32, for a total transaction of $636,626.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,455,554.44. This represents a 6.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the second quarter worth about $28,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 62.2% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 60 shares of the construction company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 93.8% in the second quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 62 shares of the construction company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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