Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires 3,313 Shares of Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Vulcan Materials Company by 1.1%, acquiring an additional 3,313 shares, bringing its total holdings to 293,949 shares valued at approximately $68.6 million.
• Vulcan Materials reported earnings per share of $2.45 for the last quarter, missing analysts' expectations, while its revenue came in at $2.10 billion, also below forecasts.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.49 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 27.37%.

Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 293,949 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,313 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.22% of Vulcan Materials worth $68,578,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VMC. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter worth $497,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,196 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,080,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 77.9% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 28,092 shares of the construction company's stock worth $7,226,000 after acquiring an additional 12,298 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,827 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,013,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 3,450.6% during the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 3,018 shares of the construction company's stock worth $776,000 after acquiring an additional 2,933 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

VMC traded up $4.0170 during trading on Friday, reaching $292.2970. The stock had a trading volume of 529,856 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,045,533. The stock has a market cap of $38.62 billion, a PE ratio of 40.82, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.67. Vulcan Materials Company has a one year low of $215.08 and a one year high of $298.31. The business has a 50-day moving average of $272.36 and a 200-day moving average of $259.19.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The construction company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.65 by ($0.20). Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 12.52% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.35 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials Company 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 Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Vulcan Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VMC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Vulcan Materials from $287.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Vulcan Materials from $286.00 to $279.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $303.00 to $285.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded 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 research report on Friday, May 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $304.27.

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.