Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM)

Key Points

• Unusually heavy options activity: Traders bought 2,062 call options on Martin Marietta Materials, about 1,450% above the average call volume of 133, signaling elevated bullish interest.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but positive overall: The stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a target price of $682.41, though recent moves included both price-target cuts and increases from major firms.
• Fundamentals and shares performance: MLM recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $1.93 EPS on $1.36 billion in revenue, while shares traded at $573.99 on Tuesday, below the 52-week high of $710.97.

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 2,062 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,450% compared to the average volume of 133 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MLM. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $615.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $731.00 to $737.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Berenberg Bank set a $556.00 target price on Martin Marietta Materials and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Barclays reduced their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $675.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $614.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $682.41.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

Shares of MLM traded up $4.64 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $573.99. The stock had a trading volume of 122,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 539,603. Martin Marietta Materials has a 12 month low of $525.38 and a 12 month high of $710.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.68, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 2.28. The company's 50-day moving average is $580.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $614.74.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.15. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 10.27% and a net margin of 38.67%.The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. Martin Marietta Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials will post 19.38 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 44,209 shares of the construction company's stock worth $27,527,000 after buying an additional 3,903 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 14,332.7% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 77,792 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $48,438,000 after buying an additional 77,253 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,316 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,801,000 after buying an additional 3,728 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.2% in the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 411,482 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $259,344,000 after buying an additional 5,038 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,753 shares of the construction company's stock worth $7,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,778 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company's stock.

About Martin Marietta Materials

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc NYSE: MLM is a leading producer of aggregates and heavy building materials serving the construction and infrastructure markets. The company operates quarries, sand and gravel pits, and other extraction sites to supply crushed stone, sand and gravel, and a range of value‑added products for use in roads, bridges, commercial and residential construction, and other civil engineering projects.

In addition to its core aggregates business, Martin Marietta manufactures and sells asphalt, ready‑mixed concrete and related materials and services.

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