Bamco Inc. NY Purchases 16,917 Shares of Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Bamco Inc. NY increased its position in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 223,166 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 16,917 shares during the quarter. Bamco Inc. NY’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $68,650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $308,908,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,824,987 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,040,914,000 after buying an additional 857,210 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 598.5% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 719,924 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $187,771,000 after buying an additional 616,850 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 48.3% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,511,427 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $464,945,000 after buying an additional 491,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 5.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,625,271 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,345,703,000 after acquiring an additional 414,828 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on VMC shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $321.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 target price (down from $335.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $326.29.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Vulcan Materials stock opened at $265.50 on Friday. Vulcan Materials Company has a 52-week low of $218.87 and a 52-week high of $331.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $302.31 and its 200 day moving average is $296.81. The company has a market cap of $34.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.70, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.05.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.41). Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.56% and a net margin of 13.56%.The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.17 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This is an increase from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vulcan Materials news, Director Melissa H. Anderson sold 1,137 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.72, for a total transaction of $345,329.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

About Vulcan Materials

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.