Procyon Advisors LLC Has $3.70 Million Holdings in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,283 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 926 shares during the quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $3,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,535,907 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,670,246,000 after buying an additional 184,543 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 1.4% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 10,257,453 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,312,440,000 after buying an additional 139,264 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 2.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,385,006 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,213,996,000 after purchasing an additional 123,332 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 47.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,503,484 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $909,794,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 6.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,042,842 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $614,715,000 after purchasing an additional 194,337 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vulcan Materials Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of VMC traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $273.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 38,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 818,476. The stock has a market cap of $36.16 billion, a PE ratio of 39.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.83. 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 has a 52 week low of $162.00 and a 52 week high of $276.58. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $250.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $226.01.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 16th. The construction company reported $1.46 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 11.99% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Vulcan Materials will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. 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 26.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VMC. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $264.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $236.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Vulcan Materials from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $208.00 price objective for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vulcan Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.54.

Insider Transactions at Vulcan Materials

In related news, VP Randy L. Pigg sold 307 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.27, for a total value of $78,367.89. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $483,991.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Stanley G. Bass sold 8,310 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.68, for a total value of $2,091,460.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,376,992.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Randy L. Pigg sold 307 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.27, for a total transaction of $78,367.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,896 shares in the company, valued at $483,991.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,017 shares of company stock worth $3,344,741. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by 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.