Knowledge Leaders Capital LLC Has $447,000 Position in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Knowledge Leaders Capital LLC lowered its position in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,970 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 172 shares during the period. Knowledge Leaders Capital LLC’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position 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 valued at $909,794,000 after acquiring an additional 1,447,700 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 30,160.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 541,359 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $109,365,000 after acquiring an additional 539,570 shares during the period. Palestra Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 68.9% during the third quarter. Palestra Capital Management LLC now owns 560,315 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $113,195,000 after acquiring an additional 228,510 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 6.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,042,842 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $614,715,000 after acquiring an additional 194,337 shares during the period. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the third quarter valued at $32,535,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:VMC traded up $2.70 during trading on Friday, hitting $261.24. 689,091 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 597,884. Vulcan Materials has a 52 week low of $166.54 and a 52 week high of $276.58. The company has a current ratio of 3.17, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $34.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $264.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $234.73.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The construction company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 11.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. 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. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is 26.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vulcan Materials news, SVP Denson N. Franklin III sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.48, for a total transaction of $862,336.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,453,844.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Denson N. Franklin III sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.48, for a total transaction of $862,336.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,453,844.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Randy L. Pigg sold 307 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $483,991.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,017 shares of company stock valued at $3,344,741 in the last 90 days. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $298.00 to $319.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Vulcan Materials in a report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $208.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Vulcan Materials from $236.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Vulcan Materials from $263.00 to $322.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Five equities research 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $273.00.

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.