Vanguard Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Vulcan Materials by 0.8% in Q4, selling 135,529 shares and leaving it with 17,071,654 shares (about 12.92%) valued at roughly $4.87 billion; institutional investors now own 90.39% of the stock.
• Vulcan missed quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $1.70 versus $2.11 expected and revenue of $1.91B versus $1.95B, while analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a $323.69 target and an average fiscal-year EPS forecast of 9.17.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.52 (annualized $2.08), representing a yield of about 0.7%.

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 17,071,654 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 135,529 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.92% of Vulcan Materials worth $4,869,177,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 84 shares of the construction company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VMC shares. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vulcan Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Vulcan Materials from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $323.69.

Vulcan Materials Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Vulcan Materials stock opened at $291.67 on Tuesday. Vulcan Materials Company has a 12-month low of $241.91 and a 12-month high of $331.09. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $38.05 billion, a PE ratio of 35.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $284.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $292.99.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.41). Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.56% and a return on equity of 12.56%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.95 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.17 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. This is an increase from Vulcan Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Vulcan Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vulcan Materials news, Director Melissa H. Anderson sold 1,137 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.72, for a total value of $345,329.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

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.

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