Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Hits New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Martin Marietta Materials hit a new 52-week low of $469.79 after JPMorgan lowered its price target from $680 to $650, although it maintained an overweight rating.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans positive: 12 analysts rate the stock a Buy, seven a Hold, and one a Sell, resulting in a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target price of $644.71.
• Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company, while the latest quarter showed revenue growth of 21% year over year and EPS of $5.00, beating estimates; the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.84 per share.

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $680.00 to $650.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Martin Marietta Materials traded as low as $469.79 and last traded at $472.6340, with a volume of 702 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $472.40.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Martin Marietta Materials to an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $664.00 to $639.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $660.00 price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Friday, July 31st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $644.71.

Institutional Trading of Martin Marietta Materials

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,706,134,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,411,047,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $199,321,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $143,897,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $130,292,000. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $510.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $558.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.57, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.08. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $5.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.24. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 36.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.43 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 17.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were given a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. This is an increase from Martin Marietta Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.26%.

Martin Marietta Materials Company Profile

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc is a producer and supplier of construction materials used in infrastructure, commercial, residential, and industrial projects. The company's principal products include crushed stone, sand, gravel, cement, ready-mixed concrete, asphalt, and related paving materials.

The company serves customers primarily across the United States, with operations concentrated in major markets experiencing demand for transportation infrastructure, building construction, and other development projects.

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