EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. Invests $641,000 in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,083 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $641,000.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vulcan Materials news, Director Melissa H. Anderson sold 1,137 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.72, for a total transaction of $345,329.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Trading Up 0.6%

Vulcan Materials stock opened at $265.50 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $34.67 billion, a PE ratio of 32.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.05. Vulcan Materials Company has a 12 month low of $218.87 and a 12 month high of $331.09. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $302.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $296.85. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 13.56% and a return on equity of 12.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.17 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VMC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. B. Riley Financial initiated coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $345.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $317.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research cut shares of Vulcan Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 target price (down from $335.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $326.29.

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.