Baldwin Investment Management LLC Cuts Stake in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Baldwin Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) by 36.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,663 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 2,101 shares during the quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC's holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VMC. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Vulcan Materials by 239.8% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 739,003 shares of the construction company's stock worth $190,094,000 after buying an additional 521,508 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the construction company's stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 489,990 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $126,041,000 after buying an additional 21,202 shares during the period. Alkeon Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $329,769,000 after buying an additional 450,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 222,144 shares of the construction company's stock worth $57,142,000 after buying an additional 37,319 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on VMC shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $287.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Vulcan Materials from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Stephens set a $315.00 price target on shares of Vulcan Materials and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James lowered their target price on Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Vulcan Materials from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $294.73.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of VMC stock traded up $1.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $269.60. 258,244 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 933,697. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $240.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $260.02. 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 cap of $35.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. Vulcan Materials's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Vulcan Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Vulcan Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.80%.

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.