Panagora Asset Management Inc. Sells 6,182 Shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. $VMI

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management cut its stake in Valmont Industries by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 6,182 shares and leaving it with 58,100 shares valued at about $23.4 million.
• Several analysts raised or reiterated bullish views on VMI, including Oppenheimer’s $600 price target and Stifel’s $541 target. MarketBeat says the stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus with a $525.25 average price target.
• Valmont reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $5.51 beating estimates and revenue of $1.03 billion topping forecasts. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, payable July 15.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI - Free Report) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,100 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 6,182 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.29% of Valmont Industries worth $23,375,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Allen Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 7,565 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,933,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 453 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $182,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 582 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,223 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,413,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.84% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer set a $600.00 target price on Valmont Industries and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Valmont Industries from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen raised Valmont Industries from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, May 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Valmont Industries from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Valmont Industries from $497.00 to $541.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $525.25.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

Shares of VMI opened at $539.60 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.38 and a quick ratio of 1.59. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $316.56 and a one year high of $558.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.96, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a fifty day moving average of $491.13 and a 200 day moving average of $451.08.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $5.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.79. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 24.94% and a net margin of 8.91%.The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $994.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.32 earnings per share. Valmont Industries's revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 22.83 EPS for the current year.

Valmont Industries Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction, the director directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

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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