Handelsbanken Fonder AB Buys 18,955 Shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. $VMI

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its Valmont Industries stake by 85.4% in Q4, buying 18,955 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 41,147 shares valued at about $16.55 million.
• Valmont saw mixed but generally positive Wall Street sentiment, with recent target price increases from DA Davidson and JPMorgan and upgrades from Zacks Research and Wall Street Zen; the stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus target of $500.33.
• The company posted strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, payable July 15, while shares were trading up 2.6% at $503.81.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI - Free Report) by 85.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,147 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,955 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned approximately 0.21% of Valmont Industries worth $16,554,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VMI. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $739,000. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,658,000. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 85,346 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $34,336,000 after buying an additional 10,518 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,663,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 283,740 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $110,015,000 after buying an additional 3,379 shares during the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VMI. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Valmont Industries from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research upgraded Valmont Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Valmont Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Valmont Industries in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Valmont Industries from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $500.33.

Insider Transactions at Valmont Industries

In other Valmont Industries news, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 17,500 shares of Valmont Industries stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $492.34, for a total transaction of $8,615,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 112,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,294,213.06. The trade was a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Valmont Industries Trading Up 2.6%

VMI opened at $503.81 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $9.78 billion, a PE ratio of 27.97 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business has a 50 day moving average of $446.31 and a 200-day moving average of $434.90. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $305.07 and a 52 week high of $528.49.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $5.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.79. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $994.85 million. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 24.94% and a net margin of 8.91%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.32 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 22.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Valmont Industries's payout ratio is presently 17.10%.

About Valmont Industries

Valmont Industries, Inc NYSE: VMI is a diversified industrial manufacturer specializing in infrastructure and agricultural products. Headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, the company engages in the design, production and distribution of engineered products that support water management, power transmission, lighting and traffic infrastructure. Valmont's solutions range from center-pivot and lateral-move irrigation systems to utility poles, transmission towers, lighting structures and highway traffic signal support structures.

The company operates through several core business segments.

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