Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Director J Thomas Hill Sells 14,000 Shares of Stock

Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) Director J Thomas Hill sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total value of $3,866,380.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 58,209 shares in the company, valued at $16,075,579.53. The trade was a 19.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

Shares of VMC stock opened at $259.53 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $285.22 and a 200-day moving average of $285.14. The company has a market cap of $33.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Vulcan Materials Company has a 52 week low of $252.35 and a 52 week high of $331.09.

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

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vulcan Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Atria Investments Inc increased its position in Vulcan Materials by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 12,334 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,518,000 after buying an additional 4,331 shares during the last quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $19,628,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $2,868,444,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its holdings 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 worth $72,459,000 after acquiring an additional 17,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Palmer Knight Co purchased a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $9,458,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on VMC. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Vulcan Materials from $310.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Berenberg Bank set a $283.00 price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $328.64.

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.