Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 7,541 Shares of Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking trimmed its stake in Vulcan Materials by 10.8%, selling 7,541 shares to hold 62,436 shares worth about $17.8 million at quarter-end.
• Vulcan beat Q1 expectations, reporting $1.35 EPS vs. ~$1.10 consensus and $1.76 billion revenue (up ~7.4% YoY), prompting management to reaffirm its outlook and several analysts to raise forecasts and price targets.
• Vulcan raised its quarterly dividend to $0.52 (annualized $2.08, ~0.7% yield), while institutional ownership remains high (~90.4%) and insiders own only ~0.65% despite a recent director sale of 1,137 shares.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its position in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,436 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 7,541 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp's holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $17,808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 84 shares of the construction company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY bought a new position in Vulcan Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Vulcan Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in Vulcan Materials in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VMC opened at $302.38 on Friday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $284.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $293.02. Vulcan Materials Company has a fifty-two week low of $252.35 and a fifty-two week high of $331.09. The company has a market capitalization of $39.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.97.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The construction company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. This is a boost from Vulcan Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Vulcan Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.62%.

Key Stories Impacting Vulcan Materials

Here are the key news stories impacting Vulcan Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations — Vulcan reported $1.35 EPS vs. consensus ~ $1.10 and $1.76B revenue vs. ~$1.65B, with revenue up ~7% YoY and margin expansion. Management reaffirmed the full-year outlook, supporting upward momentum. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Operational strength and profitability — adjusted EBITDA grew ~9% and the company cited pricing and cost-control benefits from its aggregates-led portfolio, which lifted margins. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Demand drivers are durable — management and analysts point to continued public infrastructure spending and stronger data‑center construction as key drivers of outperformance, which supports volume and pricing visibility. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised forecasts and price targets — several boutiques/analysts boosted earnings and maintained Overweight/Buy stances after the Q1 beat, providing further buy-side validation. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor materials and full transcript available — the earnings slide deck and call transcript provide more color for investors deciding on duration of exposure; useful for modeling but not new news. Read More. and Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary and pro‑management views — bullish writeups (e.g., Seeking Alpha) highlight long-term secular value of aggregates, but are opinion pieces rather than new company facts. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Cost pressures remain a risk — management acknowledged input and operating cost pressures; sustained higher costs or a slowdown in construction activity could compress margins if pricing or volumes weaken. Read More.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vulcan Materials news, Director Melissa H. Anderson sold 1,137 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.72, for a total value of $345,329.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $320.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vulcan Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Vulcan Materials from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $330.00.

Vulcan Materials Profile

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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