Citigroup Cuts Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Price Target to $600.00

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by research analysts at Citigroup from $701.00 to $600.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the construction company's stock. Citigroup's price objective indicates a potential upside of 16.23% from the company's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $657.00 to $622.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $635.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. HSBC upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $690.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $649.54.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE MLM traded down $0.43 on Monday, reaching $516.24. The stock had a trading volume of 366,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 371,138. Martin Marietta Materials has a 12-month low of $485.31 and a 12-month high of $633.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $569.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $552.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $5.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.41 by ($0.50). Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.47% and a return on equity of 12.53%. The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.94 EPS. Martin Marietta Materials's quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials will post 17.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Martin Marietta Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 76.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,628,701 shares of the construction company's stock worth $876,648,000 after buying an additional 704,460 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 506,705 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,515,441 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,353,936,000 after purchasing an additional 334,605 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 7,608.2% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 181,373 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $97,624,000 after purchasing an additional 179,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 54.2% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 467,782 shares of the construction company's stock worth $251,784,000 after purchasing an additional 164,503 shares during the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.