Stifel Nicolaus Boosts Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Price Target to $650.00

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) had its target price hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $621.00 to $650.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on MLM. HSBC raised Martin Marietta Materials from a reduce rating to a hold rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $376.00 to $543.00 in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Stephens lifted their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $575.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Monday, January 8th. They set an overweight rating and a $595.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $600.00 price target (up from $530.00) on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $635.00 to $708.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $588.69.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:MLM opened at $592.46 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $36.63 billion, a PE ratio of 31.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $583.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $507.61. Martin Marietta Materials has a 12-month low of $343.79 and a 12-month high of $626.67. The company has a current ratio of 3.35, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The construction company reported $4.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.67. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 17.25%. Martin Marietta Materials’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.04 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials will post 21.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.72%.

Insider Activity at Martin Marietta Materials

In related news, Director Sue W. Cole sold 1,724 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $543.48, for a total value of $936,959.52. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,757,099.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Martin Marietta Materials news, CEO C Howard Nye sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $604.26, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sue W. Cole sold 1,724 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $543.48, for a total value of $936,959.52. Following 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 26,724 shares of company stock worth $16,033,760 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MLM. FMR LLC increased its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 225.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,833,959 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $752,803,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270,116 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $308,705,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 4,244.5% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 277,182 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $138,289,000 after acquiring an additional 270,802 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 737,821 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $249,362,000 after acquiring an additional 251,047 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,042,537 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $838,421,000 after acquiring an additional 181,136 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.