Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Position Boosted by Vident Advisory LLC

Vident Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) by 128.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,550 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 3,123 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $1,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VMC. Barclays PLC grew its position in Vulcan Materials by 29.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 472,194 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $118,251,000 after buying an additional 106,187 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $263,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 51.8% during the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,626 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,423 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 138.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 186 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on VMC shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Vulcan Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group raised shares of Vulcan Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $280.00 to $318.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Vulcan Materials from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Vulcan Materials from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $302.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vulcan Materials

In other Vulcan Materials news, SVP David P. Clement sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total value of $405,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at $764,640. This trade represents a 34.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vulcan Materials Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of VMC stock traded down $5.79 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $264.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 632,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 949,264. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 2.02. The company has a market capitalization of $34.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.84. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $250.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $260.07. Vulcan Materials has a 1-year low of $215.08 and a 1-year high of $298.31.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

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