Lone Pine Capital LLC Takes $425.94 Million Position in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,384,624 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $425,938,000. Vulcan Materials accounts for approximately 3.1% of Lone Pine Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Lone Pine Capital LLC owned approximately 1.05% of Vulcan Materials as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 960 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. now owns 6,416 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,974,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 5,470 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,683,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Bollard Group LLC increased its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 5.3% in the second quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 819 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.7% in the third quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,523 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $776,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on VMC. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 target price (down from $335.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $317.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Vulcan Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $316.00 to $296.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vulcan Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.29.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of VMC stock opened at $265.84 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $301.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $296.67. The company has a market cap of $34.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Vulcan Materials Company has a twelve month low of $218.87 and a twelve month high of $331.09.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.41). The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.56% and a return on equity of 12.56%. The business’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.17 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is a boost from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is presently 25.62%.

Insider Transactions at Vulcan Materials

In related news, Director Melissa H. Anderson sold 1,137 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.72, for a total value of $345,329.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.