Weitz Investment Management Inc. Acquires New Position in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Weitz Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 203,800 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,123,000. Vulcan Materials makes up 4.2% of Weitz Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Weitz Investment Management Inc. owned 0.16% of Vulcan Materials as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VMC. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,868,444,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Vulcan Materials by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,576,172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,016,168,000 after acquiring an additional 32,012 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Vulcan Materials by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,309,444 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $602,349,000 after purchasing an additional 133,523 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Vulcan Materials by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,727,232 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $492,642,000 after purchasing an additional 126,523 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,346,422 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $366,592,000 after purchasing an additional 24,187 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,212 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,547,599.64. This represents a 20.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on VMC. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vulcan Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Barclays lifted their price target on Vulcan Materials from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vulcan Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.93.

Vulcan Materials Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of VMC opened at $275.48 on Friday. Vulcan Materials Company has a 52-week low of $252.35 and a 52-week high of $331.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $289.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $287.61. The stock has a market cap of $35.70 billion, a PE ratio of 32.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

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

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.