Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $676.74 and last traded at $666.6270, with a volume of 98927 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $654.33.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MLM shares. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $610.00 to $631.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group upped their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $705.00 to $723.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $660.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $754.00 to $758.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $676.63.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $40.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.32 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $638.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $621.22.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The construction company reported $5.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.62 by ($0.65). Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 11.68% and a net margin of 17.34%.The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MLM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,442,945 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,691,139,000 after purchasing an additional 93,595 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 0.4% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,955,139 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,622,254,000 after buying an additional 10,445 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,825,325 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,550,990,000 after buying an additional 56,353 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.1% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,365,832 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,491,136,000 after buying an additional 25,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 9.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,204,425 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,389,428,000 after buying an additional 192,637 shares during the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Company Profile

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.