New York State Common Retirement Fund Trims Position in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its stake in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) by 11.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,862 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 10,300 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.06% of Vulcan Materials worth $18,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VMC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Vulcan Materials by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,352,507 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $4,206,355,000 after purchasing an additional 90,157 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Vulcan Materials by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,507,892 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,518,291,000 after purchasing an additional 445,691 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Vulcan Materials by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,348,418 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $859,171,000 after purchasing an additional 36,833 shares during the period. Stockbridge Partners LLC grew its stake in Vulcan Materials by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,746,482 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $449,248,000 after purchasing an additional 177,918 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Vulcan Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $380,369,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vulcan Materials Trading Up 1.4%

Vulcan Materials stock traded up $3.76 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $266.77. The company had a trading volume of 798,867 shares, compared to its average volume of 987,403. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $265.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $256.47. The firm has a market cap of $35.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.82. Vulcan Materials Company has a 12-month low of $215.08 and a 12-month high of $298.31.

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

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Vulcan Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.80%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP David P. Clement sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total transaction of $405,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $764,640. The trade was a 34.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VMC shares. Wolfe Research upgraded Vulcan Materials from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group raised Vulcan Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $280.00 to $318.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Vulcan Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Argus raised Vulcan Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $302.91.

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.