Royal Bank of Canada Decreases Stake in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reduced its Vulcan Materials stake by 8.6% in the first quarter, selling 31,325 shares and retaining 333,758 shares worth approximately $90.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 90.39% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with Vulcan Materials holding a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $327.93; Stephens and Barclays recently raised their targets to $340.
• Vulcan Materials exceeded quarterly expectations with earnings of $2.59 per share and revenue of $2.16 billion, while declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, equivalent to a 0.8% annual yield.

Royal Bank of Canada reduced its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) by 8.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 333,758 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 31,325 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.26% of Vulcan Materials worth $90,883,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,211 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,691,000 after buying an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Vulcan Materials by 908.6% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 755,682 shares of the construction company's stock worth $205,772,000 after buying an additional 680,761 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 29.0% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 75,568 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $20,577,000 after acquiring an additional 16,970 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 33,632 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $9,158,000 after acquiring an additional 1,739 shares during the period. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 14,564 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,966,000 after acquiring an additional 4,688 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VMC. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Berenberg Bank set a $283.00 price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $322.00 to $321.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vulcan Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $327.93.

Insider Transactions at Vulcan Materials

In related news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,212 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.29, for a total transaction of $646,545.48. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,547,599.64. The trade was a 20.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

Vulcan Materials Stock Down 0.8%

VMC stock opened at $268.98 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $34.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 1.76. The business's 50-day moving average is $288.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $289.87. Vulcan Materials Company has a fifty-two week low of $252.35 and a fifty-two week high of $331.09.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.13. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 13.75%.The business had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.42 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Vulcan Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.56%.

About Vulcan Materials

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.

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