Bamco Inc. NY Cuts Holdings in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Bamco Inc. NY reduced its position in shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) by 49.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 147,427 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 142,066 shares during the quarter. Bamco Inc. NY owned 0.11% of Vulcan Materials worth $37,923,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its position in Vulcan Materials by 149.4% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,416,000 after purchasing an additional 5,627 shares during the last quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $514,000. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $15,719,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 284.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,650 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $11,104,000 after buying an additional 33,051 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $612,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VMC traded up $1.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $269.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 508,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 934,629. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.84. Vulcan Materials has a 1-year low of $215.08 and a 1-year high of $298.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $240.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $260.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 1.83.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 12.30%. The business's revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. 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 yield of 0.73%. Vulcan Materials's payout ratio is 27.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on VMC. Wolfe Research upgraded Vulcan Materials from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Vulcan Materials from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $273.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Vulcan Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vulcan Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $294.73.

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.