Valmont Industries, Inc. $VMI Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada trimmed its position in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) by 11.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 23,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,859 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Valmont Industries were worth $9,280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Valmont Industries by 8.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 422,997 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $164,009,000 after purchasing an additional 32,382 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 369,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $148,509,000 after purchasing an additional 12,480 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 290,948 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $112,809,000 after purchasing an additional 8,715 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Valmont Industries by 118.8% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 282,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $108,884,000 after purchasing an additional 153,418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in Valmont Industries by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 252,605 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $100,933,000 after purchasing an additional 9,130 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VMI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Valmont Industries from $645.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Zacks Research downgraded Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Valmont Industries from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $600.00 price target on shares of Valmont Industries and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valmont Industries currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $587.00.

Valmont Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VMI opened at $494.14 on Monday. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $360.41 and a 1-year high of $585.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.54 billion, a PE ratio of 19.24, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.35. The business’s 50 day moving average is $532.95 and its 200-day moving average is $482.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 25.57% and a net margin of 11.70%.Valmont Industries’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.88 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 23.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Valmont Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 25th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 25th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.99%.

Insider Transactions at Valmont Industries

In related news, CFO John L. Schwietz acquired 208 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $486.14 per share, for a total transaction of $101,117.12. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,454,530.88. The trade was a 7.47% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Theodor Werner Freye sold 800 shares of Valmont Industries stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total value of $396,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,388,475. The trade was a 22.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Valmont Industries Profile

Valmont Industries, Inc (NYSE: VMI) is a diversified industrial manufacturer specializing in infrastructure and agricultural products. Headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, the company engages in the design, production and distribution of engineered products that support water management, power transmission, lighting and traffic infrastructure. Valmont’s solutions range from center-pivot and lateral-move irrigation systems to utility poles, transmission towers, lighting structures and highway traffic signal support structures.

The company operates through several core business segments.