State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 4,171 Shares of Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D has reduced its stake in Vulcan Materials Company by 8.5%, now holding 44,768 shares valued at approximately $10.4 million.
• Analysts have set varied price targets for Vulcan Materials, with a consensus price target of $304.27, indicating a moderate buy rating among analysts.
• Vulcan Materials recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.45 for the last quarter, missing estimates and generating revenue of $2.1 billion, which is below the expected $2.23 billion.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its position in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) by 8.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,768 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 4,171 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $10,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the first quarter worth $27,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in Vulcan Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Vulcan Materials by 26.9% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Vulcan Materials in the first quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Vulcan Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on VMC. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $321.00 price target (up previously from $305.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Stephens set a $315.00 price target on Vulcan Materials and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group raised Vulcan Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $280.00 to $318.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Vulcan Materials from $287.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Vulcan Materials from $303.00 to $285.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Two equities research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $304.27.

Vulcan Materials Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:VMC traded up $4.0170 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $292.2970. 529,856 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,045,533. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 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. The business's 50-day moving average price is $272.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $259.19. Vulcan Materials Company has a 12 month low of $215.08 and a 12 month high of $298.31.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The construction company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.65 by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 12.52%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.35 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. Vulcan Materials's payout ratio is 27.37%.

Vulcan Materials Company Profile

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.