Vulcan Materials Company $VMC Shares Acquired by Douglas Lane & Associates LLC

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC grew its position in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 4.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 155,363 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,226 shares during the period. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $40,522,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VMC. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 7.4% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,507,892 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,518,291,000 after purchasing an additional 445,691 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 11,723.8% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 425,538 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $99,278,000 after purchasing an additional 421,939 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 29,580.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 398,010 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $92,856,000 after purchasing an additional 396,669 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 5.6% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,967,777 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,625,583,000 after purchasing an additional 370,434 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials in the first quarter valued at about $82,659,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vulcan Materials Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of VMC opened at $294.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Vulcan Materials Company has a 12 month low of $215.08 and a 12 month high of $302.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $281.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $262.11. The firm has a market cap of $38.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.18, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.86.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The construction company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.65 by ($0.20). Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 12.52% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VMC. Barclays increased their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $321.00 target price (up previously from $305.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Vulcan Materials from $286.00 to $279.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Vulcan Materials from $303.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Vulcan Materials from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $308.36.

About Vulcan Materials

Vulcan Materials Company, together with its subsidiaries, produces and supplies construction aggregates primarily in the United States. It operates through four segments: Aggregates, Asphalt, Concrete, and Calcium. The company provides crushed stones, sand and gravel, sand, and other aggregates; and related products and services that are applied in construction and maintenance of highways, streets, and other public works, as well as in the construction of housing and commercial, industrial, and other nonresidential facilities.