Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Wednesday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. BNP Paribas downgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $657.00 to $622.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $515.00 to $640.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $653.08.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 0.7 %

MLM opened at $516.50 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $573.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $553.07. The company has a market capitalization of $31.57 billion, a PE ratio of 16.10, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.89. Martin Marietta Materials has a 1-year low of $479.67 and a 1-year high of $633.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $5.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.41 by ($0.50). The company had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 12.53% and a net margin of 30.47%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials will post 17.58 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is 9.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 2.8% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,579 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,939,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 8,264 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,478,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Financial LLC raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 89.8% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 685 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $371,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

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.