California State Teachers Retirement System Grows Holdings in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System dramatically increased its Vulcan Materials position by 68.5 million shares in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 68.7 million shares, or approximately 53.05% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 90.39% of VMC.
• Vulcan Materials exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.59 in EPS and $2.16 billion in revenue, with revenue up 2.5% year over year. The company also declared a $0.52 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 0.8% annual yield.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $328.64, compared with shares trading near $262.93. Meanwhile, insiders sold more than 18,000 shares worth approximately $5.1 million over the past 90 days.

California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) by 30,567.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 68,744,705 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 68,520,546 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 53.05% of Vulcan Materials worth $20,280,375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Vulcan Materials by 71.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vulcan Materials Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of VMC opened at $262.93 on Tuesday. Vulcan Materials Company has a 52-week low of $252.35 and a 52-week high of $331.09. The stock has a market cap of $34.07 billion, a PE ratio of 31.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's fifty day moving average is $281.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $283.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.13. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.75% and a return on equity of 13.05%. The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Vulcan Materials's dividend payout ratio is 24.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VMC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Vulcan Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 29th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $350.00 to $349.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $293.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $355.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $328.64.

Insider Activity at Vulcan Materials

In other Vulcan Materials news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.10, for a total value of $570,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 6,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,914,731.60. This trade represents a 22.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Hill sold 14,000 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total value of $3,866,380.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 58,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,075,579.53. This represents a 19.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,212 shares of company stock valued at $5,083,125. Insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

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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