Loop Capital Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Stock Price

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) had its price target decreased by Loop Capital from $645.00 to $615.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Loop Capital currently has a buy rating on the construction company's stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on MLM. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $701.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $670.00 to $610.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays cut their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Stephens decreased their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $690.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $626.50.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Down 3.0 %

MLM stock traded down $14.64 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $470.33. The company had a trading volume of 889,629 shares, compared to its average volume of 483,187. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $500.39 and a 200 day moving average of $537.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.40. Martin Marietta Materials has a 12 month low of $448.50 and a 12 month high of $633.23. The company has a market capitalization of $28.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.81.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.17. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 12.11% and a net margin of 30.54%. On average, equities analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, SVP Michael J. Petro purchased 550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $454.37 per share, with a total value of $249,903.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 8,985 shares in the company, valued at $4,082,514.45. This trade represents a 6.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total value of $632,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,523 shares in the company, valued at $1,673,425. This represents a 27.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Martin Marietta Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MLM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,174,183 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,705,466,000 after purchasing an additional 36,531 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 23.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,678,425 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,441,663,000 after buying an additional 506,705 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,819,744 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $939,898,000 after buying an additional 191,043 shares during the period. Amundi increased its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,562,146 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $808,005,000 after buying an additional 148,065 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,472,411 shares of the construction company's stock worth $758,499,000 after acquiring an additional 32,082 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Company Profile

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.