Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Decreases Stake in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reduced its stake in Vulcan Materials Company by 35.2%, selling 82,669 shares and owning approximately 151,881 shares valued at about $35.4 million.
• Other institutional investors increased their positions, with Vanguard Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Principal Financial Group Inc. all reporting significant acquisitions in the first quarter.
• Vulcan Materials reported quarterly earnings of $2.45 per share, missing analyst expectations, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.49 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.7%.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board decreased its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) by 35.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 151,881 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 82,669 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.11% of Vulcan Materials worth $35,434,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 21.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 951 shares of the construction company's stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 42.1% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,798 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,686,000 after acquiring an additional 4,678 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 24.3% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 921 shares of the construction company's stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 27.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the construction company's stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 969 shares of the construction company's stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VMC. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group raised Vulcan Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $280.00 to $318.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $321.00 price objective (up previously from $305.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $303.00 to $285.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $308.36.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VMC traded up $2.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $294.64. The stock had a trading volume of 585,013 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,035,541. The company has a market capitalization of $38.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.86. Vulcan Materials Company has a 12-month low of $215.08 and a 12-month high of $298.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $278.16 and a 200-day moving average of $260.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.67.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The construction company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.65 by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 12.52%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.35 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were paid a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Vulcan Materials's dividend payout ratio is 27.37%.

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.