Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Takes $968,000 Position in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC purchased a new position in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,280 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $968,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VMC. Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 12,334 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,518,000 after buying an additional 4,331 shares during the last quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Vulcan Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $19,628,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its position in Vulcan Materials by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 254,044 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $72,459,000 after acquiring an additional 17,488 shares in the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new position in Vulcan Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,293,000. Finally, Myriad Asset Management Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vulcan Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $3,229,000. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

Shares of VMC opened at $272.14 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Vulcan Materials Company has a one year low of $252.35 and a one year high of $331.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.13, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a fifty day moving average of $289.55 and a 200 day moving average of $288.07.

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

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Vulcan Materials

In related news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,212 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.29, for a total value of $646,545.48. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,547,599.64. This trade represents a 20.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Berenberg Bank set a $283.00 price target on Vulcan Materials and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $293.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Vulcan Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vulcan Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.93.

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.