1248 Management LLC Takes Position in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

1248 Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,865 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $1,251,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Vulcan Materials by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,352,507 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $4,206,355,000 after acquiring an additional 90,157 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,062,201 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,559,380,000 after buying an additional 741,631 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,348,418 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $859,171,000 after purchasing an additional 36,833 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $380,369,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Vulcan Materials by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,163,900 shares of the construction company's stock worth $299,390,000 after purchasing an additional 96,724 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Vulcan Materials Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:VMC traded up $3.13 during trading on Monday, reaching $270.18. 880,888 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 935,676. Vulcan Materials has a 52-week low of $215.08 and a 52-week high of $298.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $239.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $259.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 1.83. The stock has a market cap of $35.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.84.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.20. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 12.30%. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.49 dividend. This is a positive change from Vulcan Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Vulcan Materials's payout ratio is presently 27.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Vulcan Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $273.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Vulcan Materials from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Vulcan Materials from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vulcan Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $295.64.

Vulcan Materials Company 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.