Natixis Advisors LLC Grows Position in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 240,931 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,563 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $68,719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VMC. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 84 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VMC. Wall Street Zen raised Vulcan Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Zacks Research raised Vulcan Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $333.00 target price on Vulcan Materials in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Vulcan Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Vulcan Materials from $322.00 to $321.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $326.92.

Vulcan Materials Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE VMC opened at $282.06 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $280.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $290.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.89. Vulcan Materials Company has a 1-year low of $252.35 and a 1-year high of $331.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.54, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.05.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The construction company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.25. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 13.81%.The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.29 EPS for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is 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.