Vulcan Materials Company $VMC Shares Acquired by AQR Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Vulcan Materials Company by 112.6% in Q1 2023, owning 330,851 shares valued at approximately $75.3 million.
• Institutional investors now hold 90.39% of Vulcan Materials' shares, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Vulcan Materials has a current consensus rating of "Buy" from analysts, with a consensus target price of $308.36.

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) by 112.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 330,851 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 175,214 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.25% of Vulcan Materials worth $75,285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VMC. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Vulcan Materials by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,507,892 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,518,291,000 after buying an additional 445,691 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Vulcan Materials by 29,580.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 398,010 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $92,856,000 after buying an additional 396,669 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,967,777 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,625,583,000 after acquiring an additional 370,434 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $82,659,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,699,662 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,896,031,000 after acquiring an additional 347,155 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VMC traded up $4.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $299.02. 776,220 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 777,369. The company's 50-day moving average is $279.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $260.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $39.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.76, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.86. Vulcan Materials Company has a 1 year low of $215.08 and a 1 year high of $299.29.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The construction company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.65 by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.35 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. Vulcan Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. UBS Group raised shares of Vulcan Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $280.00 to $318.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $303.00 to $285.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $321.00 price objective (up previously from $305.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vulcan Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $308.36.

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.