Geode Capital Management LLC Grows Stake in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,576,172 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 32,012 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $1,016,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VMC. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $425,938,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,625,271 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,345,703,000 after buying an additional 414,828 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 993.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 396,628 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $113,126,000 after buying an additional 360,368 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $98,911,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,207,183 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,293,274,000 after buying an additional 311,539 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on VMC. Stephens increased their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $365.00 to $355.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective (down from $335.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Vulcan Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Vulcan Materials from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vulcan Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.58.

Vulcan Materials Stock Up 2.6%

VMC stock opened at $283.83 on Friday. Vulcan Materials Company has a twelve month low of $252.35 and a twelve month high of $331.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $36.83 billion, a PE ratio of 33.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50 day moving average of $279.80 and a 200 day moving average of $290.47.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The construction company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.25. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 13.81%.The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.73%.

Vulcan Materials 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.