Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Hits New 1-Year Low - Should You Sell?

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $444.91 and last traded at $458.78, with a volume of 230920 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $470.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Seaport Res Ptn raised Martin Marietta Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $657.00 to $622.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $670.00 to $610.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $609.43.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 3.4 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $490.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $533.79. The company has a market capitalization of $29.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.81.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.17. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 12.11% and a net margin of 30.54%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. 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 dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. 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 news, SVP Michael J. Petro bought 550 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $454.37 per share, with a total value of $249,903.50. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,985 shares in the company, valued at $4,082,514.45. This represents a 6.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total value of $632,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,673,425. This represents a 27.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MLM. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $876,648,000 after purchasing an additional 704,460 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 9.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 425 shares of the construction company's stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 10.7% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,734 shares of the construction company's stock worth $939,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,975,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 8,220 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $4,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286 shares in the last quarter. 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.