Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Buys Shares of 5,377 Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 5,377 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,586,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VMC. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 71.7% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 103 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Vulcan Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in Vulcan Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 56.4% during the 4th quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 122 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Vulcan Materials

In other news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,000 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.10, for a total transaction of $570,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 6,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,914,731.60. The trade was a 22.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of VMC opened at $276.49 on Thursday. Vulcan Materials Company has a 12-month low of $252.35 and a 12-month high of $331.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $289.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $287.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.75% and a return on equity of 13.05%. Vulcan Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.29 EPS for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VMC. Berenberg Bank set a $283.00 target price on shares of Vulcan Materials and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. 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. Citigroup lowered their target price on Vulcan Materials from $355.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Vulcan Materials from $293.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on Vulcan Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.93.

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.