GAMMA Investing LLC Purchases 396,669 Shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) by 29,580.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 398,010 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 396,669 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned about 0.30% of Vulcan Materials worth $92,856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VMC. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,791 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 906 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 30.0% during the fourth quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 208 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,169 shares of the construction company's stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 969 shares of the construction company's stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Vulcan Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $280.00 to $318.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Vulcan Materials from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Wolfe Research raised Vulcan Materials from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vulcan Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $302.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vulcan Materials

In related news, SVP David P. Clement sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total value of $405,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,832 shares in the company, valued at $764,640. This represents a 34.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Vulcan Materials Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of VMC traded up $1.44 on Wednesday, reaching $266.38. The stock had a trading volume of 518,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 962,882. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 1.83. Vulcan Materials has a 12-month low of $215.08 and a 12-month high of $298.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $253.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $259.32.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.20. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 12.30%. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Vulcan Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.80%.

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.