Vulcan Materials Company $VMC Shares Sold by Strs Ohio

Key Points

• Strs Ohio cut its Vulcan Materials stake by 38.7% in Q4, selling 43,994 shares and finishing the period with 69,767 shares worth about $19.9 million (≈0.05% ownership).
• Vulcan beat quarterly estimates with $1.35 EPS vs. $1.10 expected and $1.76B revenue (up 7.4% YoY), recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.52, and holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target near $329.62.

Strs Ohio lowered its position in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) by 38.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 69,767 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 43,994 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio owned about 0.05% of Vulcan Materials worth $19,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,293,316 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $397,795,000 after buying an additional 3,931 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 104.3% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 72,113 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $22,183,000 after buying an additional 36,823 shares during the last quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,232,000. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 67.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 14,320 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $4,405,000 after buying an additional 5,787 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vulcan Materials news, Director Melissa H. Anderson sold 1,137 shares of the business'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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

NYSE VMC opened at $297.00 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.32, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.09. Vulcan Materials Company has a twelve month low of $252.35 and a twelve month high of $331.09. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $284.44 and a 200 day moving average of $292.83.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The construction company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 13.81%.Vulcan Materials's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is an increase from Vulcan Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Vulcan Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VMC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stephens lifted their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James Financial set a $325.00 price objective on Vulcan Materials in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $296.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup cut their price target on Vulcan Materials from $365.00 to $355.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Vulcan Materials from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $329.62.

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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