SMART Wealth LLC Reduces Stock Position in Valmont Industries, Inc. $VMI

SMART Wealth LLC lessened its stake in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) by 33.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,701 shares during the quarter. SMART Wealth LLC’s holdings in Valmont Industries were worth $1,935,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Valmont Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,141,369,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Valmont Industries during the 2nd quarter worth $175,408,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Valmont Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $99,799,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 118.8% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 282,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $108,884,000 after acquiring an additional 153,418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries in the second quarter valued at about $83,723,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

Valmont Industries Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of VMI opened at $480.79 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $505.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $486.22. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $361.50 and a 12-month high of $585.71. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $9.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.34.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 11.70% and a return on equity of 25.57%. Valmont Industries’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.88 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 23.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Valmont Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 25th will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 25th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Valmont Industries’s payout ratio is presently 11.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VMI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Valmont Industries from $645.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Oppenheimer set a $600.00 price target on shares of Valmont Industries and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Valmont Industries has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $587.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Theodor Freye sold 800 shares of Valmont Industries stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total value of $396,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,388,475. The trade was a 22.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John L. Schwietz acquired 208 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $486.14 per share, for a total transaction of $101,117.12. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,454,530.88. This trade represents a 7.47% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Valmont Industries Profile

Valmont Industries, Inc (NYSE: VMI) is a diversified industrial manufacturer specializing in infrastructure and agricultural products. Headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, the company engages in the design, production and distribution of engineered products that support water management, power transmission, lighting and traffic infrastructure. Valmont’s solutions range from center-pivot and lateral-move irrigation systems to utility poles, transmission towers, lighting structures and highway traffic signal support structures.

The company operates through several core business segments.