Renaissance Technologies LLC Purchases Shares of 170,605 Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 170,605 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $46,456,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.13% of Vulcan Materials as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Vulcan Materials by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,576,172 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,016,168,000 after buying an additional 32,012 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Vulcan Materials by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,309,444 shares of the construction company's stock worth $602,349,000 after buying an additional 133,523 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Vulcan Materials by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,727,232 shares of the construction company's stock worth $492,642,000 after buying an additional 126,523 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,346,422 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $366,592,000 after acquiring an additional 24,187 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Vulcan Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $383,613,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on VMC shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Vulcan Materials from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $365.00 to $355.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vulcan Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Vulcan Materials from $298.00 to $293.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $327.79.

Insider Activity at Vulcan Materials

In related news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,212 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.29, for a total value of $646,545.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,716 shares in the company, valued at $2,547,599.64. The trade was a 20.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

NYSE:VMC opened at $284.53 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $287.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $290.44. Vulcan Materials Company has a 1-year low of $252.35 and a 1-year high of $331.09. The firm has a market cap of $36.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.05.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The construction company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.25. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.3 EPS for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Vulcan Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.73%.

Vulcan Materials Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VMC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.