Zions Bancorporation N.A. Increases Stock Holdings in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,001 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 19.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,320,570 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,332,431,000 after purchasing an additional 884,580 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,698 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,180,000 after buying an additional 2,354 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in Vulcan Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $463,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 0.5% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 173,625 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $43,448,000 after acquiring an additional 836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 2.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,660,931 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $916,807,000 after acquiring an additional 78,271 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on VMC. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Vulcan Materials in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $287.00 price target for the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $325.00 to $301.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $298.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Vulcan Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Vulcan Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vulcan Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $302.67.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VMC opened at $236.97 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $255.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $260.56. Vulcan Materials has a 52-week low of $215.08 and a 52-week high of $298.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.80.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 12.30%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This is an increase from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is 28.61%.

About Vulcan Materials

Vulcan Materials Company, together with its subsidiaries, produces and supplies construction aggregates primarily in the United States. It operates through four segments: Aggregates, Asphalt, Concrete, and Calcium. The company provides crushed stones, sand and gravel, sand, and other aggregates; and related products and services that are applied in construction and maintenance of highways, streets, and other public works, as well as in the construction of housing and commercial, industrial, and other nonresidential facilities.