Nebula Research & Development LLC Lowers Stock Position in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Nebula Research & Development LLC lowered its position in shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) by 46.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,379 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 2,983 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC's holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $869,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VMC. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 178.6% during the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 379,874 shares of the construction company's stock worth $97,652,000 after buying an additional 243,511 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 34.3% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,446 shares of the construction company's stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its position in Vulcan Materials by 103.7% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 328,398 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $84,474,000 after purchasing an additional 167,200 shares in the last quarter. Brasada Capital Management LP grew its stake in Vulcan Materials by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Brasada Capital Management LP now owns 21,278 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,448,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 271.0% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 559,643 shares of the construction company's stock worth $143,957,000 after purchasing an additional 408,803 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $273.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James dropped their target price on Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Argus raised Vulcan Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued 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 $295.64.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

NYSE VMC traded up $3.69 on Friday, hitting $267.32. 1,010,739 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 935,896. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $239.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $259.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.36 billion, a PE ratio of 39.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. This is a positive change from Vulcan Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Vulcan Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.61%.

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.