Public Sector Pension Investment Board Trims Position in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Public Sector Pension Investment Board decreased its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) by 73.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,017 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 50,205 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board's holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $4,203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VMC. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 239.8% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 739,003 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $190,094,000 after buying an additional 521,508 shares during the period. Alkeon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,282,001 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $329,769,000 after buying an additional 450,000 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 7.4% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,507,892 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,518,291,000 after buying an additional 445,691 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 271.0% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 559,643 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $143,957,000 after buying an additional 408,803 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 29,580.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 398,010 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $92,856,000 after buying an additional 396,669 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VMC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $321.00 target price (up previously from $305.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Stephens set a $315.00 target price on shares of Vulcan Materials and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $303.00 to $285.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group upgraded Vulcan Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $280.00 to $318.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut their price target on Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $304.27.

Vulcan Materials Stock Up 2.2%

NYSE:VMC traded up $6.4050 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $294.6850. 152,555 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,051,836. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $271.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $259.05. Vulcan Materials Company has a one year low of $215.08 and a one year high of $298.31. The company has a market cap of $38.93 billion, a PE ratio of 41.15, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.83.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The construction company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.65 by ($0.20). Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 12.52% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The business had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.35 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. Vulcan Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.37%.

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.