Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Acquires New Shares in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. bought a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 38,751 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,432,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VMC. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Vulcan Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 71.7% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 103 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 56.4% in the fourth quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 122 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Vulcan Materials

In related news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,212 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,547,599.64. This trade represents a 20.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VMC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Berenberg Bank set a $283.00 target price on shares of Vulcan Materials and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $293.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $310.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.93.

Vulcan Materials Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of VMC opened at $275.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $35.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $289.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $287.61. 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.

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

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is 24.56%.

Vulcan Materials Profile

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.