Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Shares Sold by Blair William & Co. IL

Blair William & Co. IL lessened its stake in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 75,405 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 179 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $19,397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 352 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 29,521 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,594,000 after purchasing an additional 6,284 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 11,801 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,036,000 after purchasing an additional 1,716 shares in the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 12,822 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,298,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147 shares during the period. Finally, Korea Investment CORP increased its position in Vulcan Materials by 77.1% during the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 98,750 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,401,000 after purchasing an additional 43,004 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vulcan Materials Trading Down 2.0 %

VMC opened at $232.90 on Friday. Vulcan Materials has a 12-month low of $215.08 and a 12-month high of $298.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 2.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.77 billion, a PE ratio of 34.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $253.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $260.41.

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

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This is a positive change from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VMC shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $287.00 price target for the company. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Vulcan Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Vulcan Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $302.67.

Vulcan Materials Profile

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.