First Trust Advisors LP Raises Position in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) by 77.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,092 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,298 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $7,226,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,320,570 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,332,431,000 after acquiring an additional 884,580 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 29.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 472,194 shares of the construction company's stock worth $118,251,000 after purchasing an additional 106,187 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the third quarter worth $811,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $671,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 185.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,661 shares of the construction company's stock worth $5,425,000 after purchasing an additional 14,061 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VMC shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Vulcan Materials from $287.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Argus raised shares of Vulcan Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vulcan Materials from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Vulcan Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $273.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $295.64.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

Shares of VMC traded up $3.69 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $267.32. The stock had a trading volume of 1,010,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 935,390. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $239.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $259.78. Vulcan Materials has a fifty-two week low of $215.08 and a fifty-two week high of $298.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.02, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.80. 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 (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.20. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.80 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. This is an increase from Vulcan Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Vulcan Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.61%.

Vulcan Materials 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.