USS Investment Management Ltd Lowers Holdings in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd reduced its stake in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 19.0%, holding 25,091 shares valued at approximately $5.85 million after selling 5,900 shares in Q1.
• Several institutional investors increased their positions in Vulcan Materials, with Principal Financial Group Inc. growing its stake by 7.4% and GAMMA Investing LLC increasing its position by a staggering 29,580.1%.
• The stock recently reported Q2 earnings of $2.45 per share, which missed analysts' expectations of $2.65, although revenue was up 4.4% year-over-year despite falling short of estimates.

USS Investment Management Ltd lessened its holdings in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) by 19.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,091 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 5,900 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $5,854,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VMC. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials in the first quarter valued at about $45,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the first quarter worth about $54,000. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on VMC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Vulcan Materials from $286.00 to $279.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $321.00 target price (up from $305.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Barclays upped their target price on Vulcan Materials from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Vulcan Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $280.00 to $318.00 in a 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 issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $308.36.

Vulcan Materials Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of VMC stock traded up $7.35 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $301.78. 808,082 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,028,858. Vulcan Materials Company has a 1 year low of $215.08 and a 1 year high of $302.22. The firm has a market cap of $39.87 billion, a PE ratio of 42.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.86. The company's 50 day moving average is $280.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $261.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

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 net margin of 12.52% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.35 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. Vulcan Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.37%.

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.