Truist Financial Corp Raises Stake in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,403 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $2,589,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,503,484 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $909,794,000 after acquiring an additional 1,447,700 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,042,842 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $614,715,000 after acquiring an additional 194,337 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,481,652 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $501,343,000 after acquiring an additional 54,450 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,314,301 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $467,535,000 after acquiring an additional 83,185 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,330,004 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $268,688,000 after acquiring an additional 55,992 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James upped their price target on Vulcan Materials from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Vulcan Materials from $298.00 to $319.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Wolfe Research lowered Vulcan Materials from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Citigroup upped their target price on Vulcan Materials from $263.00 to $322.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vulcan Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Denson N. Franklin III sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.48, for a total value of $862,336.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,395 shares in the company, valued at $1,453,844.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Vulcan Materials news, insider Stanley G. Bass sold 8,310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.68, for a total transaction of $2,091,460.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,311 shares in the company, valued at $7,376,992.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Denson N. Franklin III sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.48, for a total value of $862,336.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,395 shares in the company, valued at $1,453,844.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,017 shares of company stock worth $3,344,741. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Vulcan Materials stock opened at $267.93 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.11, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.83. Vulcan Materials has a twelve month low of $190.51 and a twelve month high of $276.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $265.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $237.76.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The construction company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by ($0.11). Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.32% and a net margin of 11.92%. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Vulcan Materials’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. This is a positive change from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is presently 26.86%.

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.