Vulcan Materials Company $VMC Stock Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 3.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 267,605 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 10,819 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $65,464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Vulcan Materials in the second quarter valued at $2,868,444,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $688,580,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $451,119,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,346,422 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $366,592,000 after acquiring an additional 24,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stockbridge Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $314,470,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

Vulcan Materials stock opened at $284.42 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.50 billion, a PE ratio of 34.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.99. Vulcan Materials Company has a one year low of $237.03 and a one year high of $331.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $256.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $280.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.43.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The construction company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.77% and a return on equity of 13.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 24th. Investors of record on Monday, November 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 9th. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on VMC. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $320.00 to $308.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vulcan Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, September 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $345.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $349.00 to $326.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vulcan Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $311.28.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.10, for a total value of $570,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 6,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,914,731.60. This represents a 22.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director J. Hill sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total value of $3,866,380.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 58,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,075,579.53. This trade represents a 19.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vulcan Materials Company Profile

Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE: VMC) is a producer and distributor of construction materials used in infrastructure, commercial, residential and industrial projects. The company is the largest producer of construction aggregates in the United States, including crushed stone, sand and gravel.

In addition to aggregates, Vulcan Materials produces asphalt mix, ready-mixed concrete and cement. Its materials are used in roads, bridges, airports, commercial buildings, homes and other construction applications.