Nicholas Company Inc. Cuts Stake in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Key Points

• Nicholas Company Inc. trimmed its stake in Vulcan Materials by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 13,660 shares and leaving it with 262,305 shares worth about $74.8 million.
• Wall Street remains constructive on VMC, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $329.62; several firms recently reiterated or raised targets into the $320–$345 range.
• Vulcan Materials reported better-than-expected results for the latest quarter, posting EPS of $1.35 and revenue of $1.76 billion, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share.

Nicholas Company Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 262,305 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 13,660 shares during the quarter. Vulcan Materials makes up 1.3% of Nicholas Company Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Nicholas Company Inc. owned approximately 0.20% of Vulcan Materials worth $74,815,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VMC. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 84 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY bought a new position in Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VMC. Stifel Nicolaus set a $333.00 price target on Vulcan Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $320.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Raymond James Financial set a $325.00 price target on Vulcan Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on Vulcan Materials from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, B. Riley Financial initiated coverage on Vulcan Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $345.00 target price for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vulcan Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $329.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Melissa H. Anderson sold 1,137 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.72, for a total transaction of $345,329.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

Vulcan Materials Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:VMC opened at $283.73 on Monday. The business's 50-day moving average is $283.32 and its 200 day moving average is $292.70. Vulcan Materials Company has a 1 year low of $252.35 and a 1 year high of $331.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.89.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The construction company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 13.81%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be 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 is Friday, May 22nd. Vulcan Materials's payout ratio is presently 24.73%.

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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