26,453 Shares in Valmont Industries, Inc. $VMI Acquired by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 26,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,279,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.14% of Valmont Industries at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VMI. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Valmont Industries in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,141,369,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Valmont Industries during the fourth quarter worth $99,799,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Valmont Industries by 118.8% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 282,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $108,884,000 after buying an additional 153,418 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Valmont Industries in the second quarter valued at $83,723,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in Valmont Industries by 179.6% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 117,342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,320,000 after buying an additional 75,377 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

Valmont Industries Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:VMI opened at $476.92 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.57, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $515.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $486.40. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $360.41 and a 12 month high of $585.71.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 11.70% and a return on equity of 25.57%. The business’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.88 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 23.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 25th. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 11.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO John L. Schwietz acquired 208 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $486.14 per share, for a total transaction of $101,117.12. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,992 shares in the company, valued at $1,454,530.88. The trade was a 7.47% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Theodor Werner Freye sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total value of $396,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,805 shares in the company, valued at $1,388,475. The trade was a 22.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on VMI shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Valmont Industries from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Valmont Industries from $645.00 to $678.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Zacks Research lowered 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 stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valmont Industries has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $587.00.

Valmont Industries Company Profile

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.