Gotham Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) by 302.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,766 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,847 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $4,055,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $380,369,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Vulcan Materials by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,062,201 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,559,380,000 after buying an additional 741,631 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 28,529.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 523,631 shares of the construction company's stock worth $134,694,000 after purchasing an additional 521,802 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 239.8% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 739,003 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $190,094,000 after acquiring an additional 521,508 shares during the period. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,282,001 shares of the construction company's stock worth $329,769,000 after acquiring an additional 450,000 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $273.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Argus raised shares of Vulcan Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $287.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Vulcan Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $280.00 to $318.00 in a report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $302.91.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

VMC traded down $1.98 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $274.04. The stock had a trading volume of 172,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 941,554. The business has a 50-day moving average of $246.69 and a 200-day moving average of $260.44. Vulcan Materials has a one year low of $215.08 and a one year high of $298.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 1.83. The stock has a market cap of $36.20 billion, a PE ratio of 40.00, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Vulcan Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.80%.

Insider Activity at Vulcan Materials

In other Vulcan Materials news, SVP David P. Clement sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $764,640. This represents a 34.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.