Brown Advisory Inc. Buys 113,648 Shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC)

Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) by 336.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 147,462 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 113,648 shares during the quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. owned about 0.11% of Vulcan Materials worth $34,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in Vulcan Materials by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,791 shares of the construction company's stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,336 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,012,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 969 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,776 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its stake 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 valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on VMC. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Vulcan Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $273.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Vulcan Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $280.00 to $318.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $302.91.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

NYSE:VMC traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $270.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 974,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 982,367. Vulcan Materials Company has a fifty-two week low of $215.08 and a fifty-two week high of $298.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $35.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $265.54 and a 200-day moving average of $256.35.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 12.91%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. Vulcan Materials's payout ratio is 27.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vulcan Materials

In other news, SVP David P. Clement sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total transaction of $405,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $764,640. This trade represents a 34.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

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.