Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Stock Gets Downgrade from Zacks Research

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on MLM. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $585.00 to $579.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 5th. DA Davidson raised Martin Marietta Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $610.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $660.00 to $640.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $690.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $642.65.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

MLM stock opened at $509.62 on Tuesday. Martin Marietta Materials has a 1 year low of $464.92 and a 1 year high of $710.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $504.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $555.18. The firm has a market cap of $30.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.30, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.08.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $5.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 36.73%. Martin Marietta Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.43 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials will post 16.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Martin Marietta Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AMG National Trust Bank raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 495 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. AlTi Global Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.2% during the first quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 1,496 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $881,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 67.9% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 47 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.2% during the first quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,082 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. grew its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 5.1% in the first quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 492 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. 95.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Company Profile

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc is a supplier of construction materials serving the infrastructure, commercial, residential and industrial markets. The company’s primary business is aggregates, including crushed stone, sand and gravel used in roads, bridges, buildings and other construction projects.

Martin Marietta also produces cement, ready-mixed concrete and asphalt products, and provides paving and related construction services in selected markets. Through its Magnesia Specialties business, the company manufactures magnesium-based and dolomitic lime products used in industrial, environmental and agricultural applications.

Headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, Martin Marietta Materials became an independent publicly traded company in 1993 following a spin-off from Martin Marietta Corporation.