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

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

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on MLM. UBS Group dropped their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $715.00 to $662.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 8th. HSBC decreased their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $750.00 to $665.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $664.00 to $639.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $620.00 price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Friday. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $642.60.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE MLM opened at $517.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $503.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $573.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.02. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The construction company reported $5.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.99 by ($0.52). The business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 7.96%. Martin Marietta Materials’s revenue was up 28.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.85 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials will post 16.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were given a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Martin Marietta Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is 8.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MLM. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 370.0% in the second quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 47 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 1,633.3% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 52 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. WestEnd Advisors LLC grew its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 1,900.0% in the 3rd quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, EFG International AG bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Martin Marietta Materials

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.