6,127 Shares in Valmont Industries, Inc. $VMI Purchased by Meeder Asset Management Inc.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,127 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,539,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Valmont Industries during the second quarter valued at $1,141,369,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 8.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 422,997 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $164,009,000 after acquiring an additional 32,382 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 369,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $148,509,000 after acquiring an additional 12,480 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 290,948 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $112,809,000 after acquiring an additional 8,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 118.8% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 282,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $108,884,000 after acquiring an additional 153,418 shares during the period. 87.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valmont Industries Trading Down 3.8%

Shares of VMI stock opened at $487.62 on Wednesday. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $360.41 and a fifty-two week high of $585.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $526.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $485.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.99, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.35.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 11.70% and a return on equity of 25.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.88 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 23.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VMI. Zacks Research downgraded Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Oppenheimer set a $600.00 target price on Valmont Industries and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Valmont Industries from $645.00 to $678.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Valmont Industries from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $587.00.

Insider Transactions at Valmont Industries

In other Valmont Industries news, CFO John L. Schwietz bought 208 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $486.14 per share, with a total value of $101,117.12. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,454,530.88. This trade represents a 7.47% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Theodor Werner Freye sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,388,475. This represents a 22.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Valmont Industries

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.