Insider Selling: Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Director Sells 14,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Director J. Thomas Hill sold 14,000 Vulcan Materials shares at an average price of $276.17, generating approximately $3.87 million. His remaining direct holdings fell 19.39% to 58,209 shares.
• Vulcan Materials reported quarterly EPS of $2.59, beating estimates of $2.46, while revenue rose 2.5% year over year to $2.16 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, equivalent to an annualized $2.08 dividend and a 0.8% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $328.64.

Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) Director J Thomas Hill sold 14,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total value of $3,866,380.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 58,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,075,579.53. This represents a 19.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VMC opened at $269.62 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $34.94 billion, a PE ratio of 31.83, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $286.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $285.56. Vulcan Materials Company has a 1-year low of $252.35 and a 1-year high of $331.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.14 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 13.75%.Vulcan Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Vulcan Materials's dividend payout ratio is 24.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vulcan Materials

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 30,567.8% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 68,744,705 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $20,280,375,000 after purchasing an additional 68,520,546 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,868,444,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,576,172 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,016,168,000 after buying an additional 32,012 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Vulcan Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $688,580,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in Vulcan Materials by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,727,232 shares of the construction company's stock worth $492,642,000 after buying an additional 126,523 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. DA Davidson started coverage on Vulcan Materials in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $330.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Vulcan Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Vulcan Materials from $350.00 to $349.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $328.64.

Vulcan Materials Company Profile

Vulcan Materials Company NYSE: VMC is a U.S.-based producer of construction materials that supplies the building and infrastructure markets. The company's primary products include construction aggregates such as crushed stone, sand and gravel, as well as asphalt mixes and ready-mixed concrete. These materials are used in a wide range of projects including highways, commercial and residential construction, and public infrastructure.

Vulcan operates an integrated network of quarries, asphalt plants and concrete facilities to produce and deliver materials to contractors, municipalities and private developers.

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