Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 32,012 Shares of Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,576,172 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,012 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.71% of Vulcan Materials worth $1,016,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its stake in Vulcan Materials by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 6,203 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,769,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in Vulcan Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $400,000. Malaga Cove Capital LLC increased its stake in Vulcan Materials by 57.0% in the 4th quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC now owns 3,395 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $968,000 after acquiring an additional 1,232 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Vulcan Materials by 264.4% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,567 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,873,000 after acquiring an additional 4,765 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Vulcan Materials by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 894 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VMC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Vulcan Materials from $296.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Stephens upped their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $322.00 to $321.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective (down from $335.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $330.58.

Vulcan Materials Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of VMC stock opened at $283.83 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.83 billion, a PE ratio of 33.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.09. Vulcan Materials Company has a 1-year low of $252.35 and a 1-year high of $331.09. The business has a 50-day moving average of $279.80 and a 200 day moving average of $290.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.89.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The construction company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 13.81%.Vulcan Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.73%.

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.