MCF Advisors LLC Purchases 54 Shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) by 22.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 295 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the quarter. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $67,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VMC. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 273.4% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 295 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 48.9% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 326 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on VMC. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $236.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Vulcan Materials in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $208.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price objective (up from $245.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Wolfe Research cut Vulcan Materials from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $263.00 to $322.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vulcan Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Randy L. Pigg sold 307 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.27, for a total transaction of $78,367.89. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $483,991.92. The transaction 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 that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 29,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,376,992.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Randy L. Pigg sold 307 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $483,991.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,017 shares of company stock valued at $3,344,741 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Stock Up 0.9 %

VMC stock opened at $254.40 on Tuesday. Vulcan Materials has a twelve month low of $166.43 and a twelve month high of $276.58. The company has a quick ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 3.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $33.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.45, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $263.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $233.72.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 16th. The construction company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.06. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 11.99%. The firm had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials will post 8.43 EPS for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a boost from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is presently 26.36%.

Vulcan Materials Company 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.