HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 6,942 Shares of Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 326,837 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 6,942 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $93,220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VMC. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 5.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,625,271 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,345,703,000 after acquiring an additional 414,828 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Vulcan Materials by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,293,316 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $397,795,000 after purchasing an additional 3,931 shares during the period. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. purchased a new position in Vulcan Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,232,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 67.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 14,320 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,405,000 after purchasing an additional 5,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 67.3% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 29,081 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $8,946,000 after purchasing an additional 11,699 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VMC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $322.00 to $321.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vulcan Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.58.

Insider Activity at Vulcan Materials

In related news, Director Melissa H. Anderson sold 1,137 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.72, for a total value of $345,329.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

NYSE:VMC opened at $259.43 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $33.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.09. Vulcan Materials Company has a 12 month low of $252.35 and a 12 month high of $331.09. The business’s 50-day moving average is $279.35 and its 200 day moving average is $291.56.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The construction company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 13.81%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. On average, equities 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 Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is currently 24.73%.

About Vulcan Materials

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.