Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Hits New 12-Month High at $620.78

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $620.78 and last traded at $620.78, with a volume of 76672 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $610.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MLM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $510.00 to $598.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $600.00 price objective (up from $530.00) on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $505.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $595.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $571.77.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 3.35, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company's 50 day moving average is $568.56 and its 200-day moving average is $495.53. The company has a market capitalization of $37.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.96.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The construction company reported $4.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.67. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 17.25% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.04 EPS. Martin Marietta Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 21.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.72%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Howard Nye sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $604.26, for a total transaction of $9,063,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 134,640 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $81,357,566.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO C Howard Nye sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $604.26, for a total value of $9,063,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 134,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,357,566.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sue W. Cole sold 1,724 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $543.48, for a total transaction of $936,959.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,757,099.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,724 shares of company stock valued at $16,033,760 in the last 90 days. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Schear Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 1,647 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $822,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,170 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 2,335 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,231,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 152 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 460 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. 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.