Schroder Investment Management Group Grows Stock Holdings in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Key Points

• Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in Vulcan Materials by 10.1% in Q3 to 457,933 shares (about $140.9M), and institutional investors now own roughly 90.39% of the company with similar increases from Vanguard, JPMorgan and Principal.
• Vulcan missed its latest quarter, reporting EPS of $1.70 versus $2.11 expected and revenue of $1.91B versus $1.95B expected, although revenue was up 3.2% year‑over‑year.
• The company boosted its quarterly dividend to $0.52 (annualized $2.08, ~0.8% yield), and analysts collectively rate the stock a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target of about $326.29, amid mixed individual upgrades and downgrades.

Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 457,933 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 41,940 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group owned approximately 0.35% of Vulcan Materials worth $140,869,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VMC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,207,183 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,293,274,000 after purchasing an additional 311,539 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,924,285 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,437,669,000 after buying an additional 99,298 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,625,271 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,345,703,000 after buying an additional 414,828 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Vulcan Materials by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,558,791 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,449,844,000 after acquiring an additional 95,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,491,618 shares of the construction company's stock worth $906,961,000 after acquiring an additional 27,531 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Vulcan Materials stock opened at $274.22 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.69. Vulcan Materials Company has a 1 year low of $215.08 and a 1 year high of $331.09. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $304.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $297.54. The firm has a market cap of $35.81 billion, a PE ratio of 33.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.05.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.41). Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.56% and a net margin of 13.56%.The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.17 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This is a positive change from Vulcan Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. 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 24.14%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Melissa H. Anderson sold 1,137 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.72, for a total transaction of $345,329.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Thompson S. Baker II sold 7,135 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.81, for a total value of $2,146,279.35. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,937 shares of company stock worth $2,687,784. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VMC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $321.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $316.00 to $296.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vulcan Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $326.29.

Vulcan Materials Company 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.

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