Loop Capital Lowers Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Price Target to $615.00

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) had its target price lowered by analysts at Loop Capital from $645.00 to $615.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the construction company’s stock. Loop Capital’s target price suggests a potential upside of 27.14% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on MLM. StockNews.com lowered Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of 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. Raymond James cut their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Martin Marietta Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $626.50.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Up 1.2 %

MLM stock traded up $5.58 on Tuesday, hitting $483.71. 191,059 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 478,618. The business’s fifty day moving average is $505.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $538.52. Martin Marietta Materials has a twelve month low of $448.50 and a twelve month high of $633.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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, research analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Martin Marietta Materials

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, SVP Michael J. Petro bought 550 shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $454.37 per share, for a total transaction of $249,903.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 8,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,082,514.45. The trade was a 6.52 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,673,425. The trade was 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MLM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,174,183 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,705,466,000 after buying an additional 36,531 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 23.3% during the 3rd 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. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,819,744 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $939,898,000 after acquiring an additional 191,043 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 148,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 32,082 shares in the last quarter. 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.