Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) from a sell rating to a strong sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $590.00 to $565.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Stephens lowered their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $680.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $530.00 to $520.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Citigroup increased their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $610.00 to $641.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $664.00 to $639.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $642.60.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

NYSE:MLM opened at $530.17 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $31.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $502.99 and its 200-day moving average is $572.87. Martin Marietta Materials has a 1-year low of $464.92 and a 1-year high of $710.97.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The construction company reported $5.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.99 by ($0.52). The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 7.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 28.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.85 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials will post 16.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. This is a positive change from Martin Marietta Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.89%.

Institutional Trading of Martin Marietta Materials

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,706,134,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,411,047,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 546,170 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $321,442,000 after purchasing an additional 5,764 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 1,735.1% during the third quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 448,545 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $215,216,000 after purchasing an additional 424,103 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 13.6% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 386,046 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $222,633,000 after purchasing an additional 46,228 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Company Profile

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of building materials used in construction and infrastructure projects. Its products include crushed stone, sand and gravel, cement, ready-mixed concrete and asphalt.

The company also produces specialty products through its magnesia-based business, including lime, chemicals and products used in industrial and environmental applications. Its construction materials operations serve markets across the United States.

Martin Marietta traces its roots to 1939 and has grown through acquisitions and expansion of its materials operations.