Stifel Nicolaus Initiates Coverage on Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM)

Equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set a "buy" rating and a $559.00 price target on the construction company's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' target price points to a potential upside of 21.25% from the company's previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $680.00 to $645.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $657.00 to $622.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. HSBC upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $690.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $730.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Raymond James cut their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $634.36.

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Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

MLM stock traded down $14.89 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $461.02. 983,189 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 449,376. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.50. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $520.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $543.69. Martin Marietta Materials has a 52-week low of $448.87 and a 52-week high of $633.23. The company has a market cap of $28.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.26, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Insider Transactions at Martin Marietta Materials

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 1,508 shares of the construction company's stock worth $785,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $13,501,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $208,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter worth $235,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 8,150 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $4,209,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares during the period. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Martin Marietta Materials

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.