Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Has $39.58 Million Stock Position in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 174,367 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,318 shares during the quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned about 0.13% of Vulcan Materials worth $39,583,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Vulcan Materials by 50.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 32,713 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $7,384,000 after purchasing an additional 10,991 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Vulcan Materials by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 110,292 shares of the construction company's stock worth $22,282,000 after acquiring an additional 3,318 shares in the last quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 9,976 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,015,000 after acquiring an additional 2,610 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,114,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 17.6% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 44,953 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $9,081,000 after purchasing an additional 6,732 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VMC shares. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Vulcan Materials from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Vulcan Materials in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $208.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research downgraded Vulcan Materials from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Vulcan Materials from $263.00 to $322.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $268.85.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

NYSE VMC traded up $4.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $270.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 453,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 786,604. The stock has a market cap of $35.73 billion, a PE ratio of 38.70, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $257.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $229.23. Vulcan Materials has a 52 week low of $162.00 and a 52 week high of $276.58. The company has a current ratio of 3.17, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 16th. The construction company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 11.99%. The firm's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Vulcan Materials will post 8.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a $0.46 dividend. This is a boost from Vulcan Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. Vulcan Materials's dividend payout ratio is 26.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vulcan Materials

In other news, SVP Denson N. Franklin III sold 3,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.48, for a total transaction of $862,336.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,395 shares in the company, valued at $1,453,844.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Vulcan Materials news, VP Randy L. Pigg sold 307 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.27, for a total transaction of $78,367.89. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $483,991.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Denson N. Franklin III sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.48, for a total transaction of $862,336.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,453,844.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,017 shares of company stock worth $3,344,741. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Vulcan Materials

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.