HighTower Advisors LLC Grows Position in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 1.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 333,997 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,756 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $98,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Vulcan Materials by 71.7% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 103 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new stake in Vulcan Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Vulcan Materials

In other news, Director J. Hill sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total transaction of $3,866,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 58,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,075,579.53. This trade represents a 19.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,212 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.29, for a total transaction of $646,545.48. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,547,599.64. The trade was a 20.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 18,212 shares of company stock valued at $5,083,125 in the last quarter. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on VMC. Citigroup cut their price target on Vulcan Materials from $355.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Vulcan Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on Vulcan Materials from $350.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Vulcan Materials from $293.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $328.64.

Vulcan Materials Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Vulcan Materials stock opened at $262.93 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Vulcan Materials Company has a 1-year low of $252.35 and a 1-year high of $331.09. The business has a 50-day moving average of $282.33 and a 200-day moving average of $283.80. The company has a market capitalization of $34.07 billion, a PE ratio of 31.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

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

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.