Vulcan Materials Company $VMC Shares Sold by Groupama Asset Managment

Groupama Asset Managment reduced its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 77.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,702 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 9,270 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $831,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VMC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,207,183 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,293,274,000 after purchasing an additional 311,539 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 1.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,924,285 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,437,669,000 after buying an additional 99,298 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Vulcan Materials by 5.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,625,271 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,345,703,000 after buying an additional 414,828 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Vulcan Materials by 1.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,558,791 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,449,844,000 after buying an additional 95,256 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 0.4% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,318,474 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $713,209,000 after buying an additional 9,030 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VMC shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Vulcan Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Vulcan Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 target price (down from $335.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $326.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Melissa H. Anderson sold 1,137 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Vulcan Materials stock opened at $258.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.97. Vulcan Materials Company has a 1 year low of $218.87 and a 1 year high of $331.09. The company has a market capitalization of $33.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $298.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $295.72.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.56% and a return on equity of 12.56%. Vulcan Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.17 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

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

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.