Vulcan Materials Company $VMC Stock Position Lowered by Westfield Capital Management Co. LP

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP decreased its position in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 4.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 236,556 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 12,127 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $72,769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 4.1% during the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 960 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. now owns 6,416 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,974,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management boosted its position in Vulcan Materials by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 5,470 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,683,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Bollard Group LLC grew its stake in Vulcan Materials by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 819 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,523 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $776,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Vulcan Materials

In other Vulcan Materials news, President Thompson S. Baker II sold 7,135 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.81, for a total value of $2,146,279.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Denson N. Franklin III sold 665 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $196,175.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,780. This represents a 7.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,937 shares of company stock worth $2,687,784. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of Vulcan Materials stock opened at $305.61 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $303.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $297.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.64, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.07. Vulcan Materials Company has a 1-year low of $215.08 and a 1-year high of $331.09.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.41). The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.56% and a net margin of 13.56%.The firm’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.17 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This is a positive change from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VMC. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $317.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. DA Davidson cut their price target on Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $316.00 to $296.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vulcan Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.64.

Vulcan Materials Company Profile

Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE: VMC) is a U.S.-based producer of construction materials that supplies the building and infrastructure markets. The company’s primary products include construction aggregates such as crushed stone, sand and gravel, as well as asphalt mixes and ready-mixed concrete. These materials are used in a wide range of projects including highways, commercial and residential construction, and public infrastructure.

Vulcan operates an integrated network of quarries, asphalt plants and concrete facilities to produce and deliver materials to contractors, municipalities and private developers.