Benjamin Edwards Inc. Has $4.20 Million Stock Position in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 15.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,224 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,589 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $4,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VMC. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $2,868,444,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Vulcan Materials by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,576,172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,016,168,000 after purchasing an additional 32,012 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $688,580,000. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,727,232 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $492,642,000 after purchasing an additional 126,523 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials in the second quarter valued at about $451,119,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VMC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $293.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Vulcan Materials from $310.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Vulcan Materials in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $330.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $328.64.

Vulcan Materials Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:VMC opened at $275.11 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market cap of $35.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50 day moving average of $286.74 and a 200-day moving average of $285.99. Vulcan Materials Company has a one year low of $252.35 and a one year high of $331.09.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.75% and a return on equity of 13.05%. Vulcan Materials’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is 24.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.10, for a total value of $570,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 6,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,914,731.60. This represents a 22.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

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.