Argent Trust Co Grows Stock Holdings in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC)

Argent Trust Co increased its stake in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,865 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $3,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the first quarter worth $27,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Vulcan Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus raised shares of Vulcan Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $303.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Barclays increased their target price on Vulcan Materials from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research upgraded Vulcan Materials from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $286.00 to $279.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $302.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP David P. Clement sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total value of $405,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,832 shares in the company, valued at $764,640. The trade was a 34.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vulcan Materials Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:VMC opened at $274.56 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $265.36 and a 200 day moving average of $257.47. The company has a market cap of $36.27 billion, a PE ratio of 38.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.83. Vulcan Materials Company has a 12-month low of $215.08 and a 12-month high of $298.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The construction company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 12.52%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.80%.

Vulcan Materials Profile

Vulcan Materials Company, together with its subsidiaries, produces and supplies construction aggregates primarily in the United States. It operates through four segments: Aggregates, Asphalt, Concrete, and Calcium. The company provides crushed stones, sand and gravel, sand, and other aggregates; and related products and services that are applied in construction and maintenance of highways, streets, and other public works, as well as in the construction of housing and commercial, industrial, and other nonresidential facilities.