Amundi Buys 75,572 Shares of Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Key Points

• Amundi increased its Vulcan Materials stake by 18% in the first quarter, purchasing 75,572 additional shares to own 495,403 shares valued at approximately $134.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 90.39% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately bullish, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $327.93, although one research firm downgraded the stock to “sell.” An executive also sold 2,212 shares for roughly $646,545.
• Vulcan Materials exceeded quarterly expectations with adjusted EPS of $2.59 versus the $2.46 consensus and revenue of $2.16 billion. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, equivalent to a 0.8% yield.

Amundi lifted its stake in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) by 18.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 495,403 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 75,572 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned about 0.38% of Vulcan Materials worth $134,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Vulcan Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Vulcan Materials by 71.7% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 103 shares of the construction company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. purchased a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Vulcan Materials

In other news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,212 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.29, for a total transaction of $646,545.48. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,547,599.64. This represents a 20.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VMC. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $293.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $333.00 target price on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $322.00 to $321.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vulcan Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $327.93.

Vulcan Materials Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE VMC opened at $268.98 on Friday. Vulcan Materials Company has a 1-year low of $252.35 and a 1-year high of $331.09. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $288.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $289.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.89.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 13.75%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. Vulcan Materials's payout ratio is currently 24.56%.

About Vulcan Materials

Vulcan Materials Company NYSE: VMC is a U.S.-based producer of construction materials that supplies the building and infrastructure markets. The company's primary products include construction aggregates such as crushed stone, sand and gravel, as well as asphalt mixes and ready-mixed concrete. These materials are used in a wide range of projects including highways, commercial and residential construction, and public infrastructure.

Vulcan operates an integrated network of quarries, asphalt plants and concrete facilities to produce and deliver materials to contractors, municipalities and private developers.

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