Raiffeisen Bank International AG Takes Position in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,480 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $382,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VMC. Norges Bank bought a new position in Vulcan Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $380,369,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,062,201 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,559,380,000 after buying an additional 741,631 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 28,529.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 523,631 shares of the construction company's stock worth $134,694,000 after buying an additional 521,802 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 239.8% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 739,003 shares of the construction company's stock worth $190,094,000 after acquiring an additional 521,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 54.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 450,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VMC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Stephens set a $315.00 target price on shares of Vulcan Materials and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Vulcan Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $302.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP David P. Clement sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total transaction of $405,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at $764,640. This represents a 34.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

VMC traded down $2.63 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $273.38. 651,195 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 944,897. The stock has a market cap of $36.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.91, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Vulcan Materials has a 52 week low of $215.08 and a 52 week high of $298.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $247.65 and a 200 day moving average of $260.53.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 12.30%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Vulcan Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.80%.

About Vulcan Materials

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.