Intech Investment Management LLC Decreases Position in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Intech Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC – Get Rating) by 25.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,075 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,398 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $714,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VMC. Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the 4th quarter worth $62,023,000. Palestra Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 46.8% in the third quarter. Palestra Capital Management LLC now owns 907,462 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $143,116,000 after acquiring an additional 289,462 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,535,907 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,670,246,000 after acquiring an additional 184,543 shares during the period. Nicholas Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 156.1% in the fourth quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 255,505 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $44,741,000 after acquiring an additional 155,720 shares during the period. Finally, Keybank National Association OH increased its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 2,941.1% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 158,411 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,739,000 after acquiring an additional 153,202 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VMC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. 92 Resources restated a “maintains” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Friday, May 5th. Seaport Res Ptn restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Vulcan Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $188.00 to $212.00 in a research report on Monday, April 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vulcan Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.00, for a total value of $468,244.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,887 shares in the company, valued at $565,852. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of VMC opened at $197.22 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $26.24 billion, a PE ratio of 43.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.37. Vulcan Materials has a fifty-two week low of $137.54 and a fifty-two week high of $199.10. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $175.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $178.13.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The construction company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 8.14% and a return on equity of 10.36%. The business’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.73 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials will post 6.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 26th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 25th. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.05%.

Vulcan Materials Company Profile

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Vulcan Materials Co engages in the production of construction aggregates. Its products include crushed stone, sand, and gravel. It operates through the following business segments: Aggregates, Asphalt, Concrete, and Calcium. The Aggregates segment produces and sells asphalt mix and ready-mixed concrete primarily in its mid-Atlantic, Georgia, Southwestern, Tennessee, and Western markets.