Vulcan Materials Company $VMC Stake Boosted by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 2.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 921,238 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 21,566 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.70% of Vulcan Materials worth $240,277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VMC. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 19.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 256,789 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $66,976,000 after acquiring an additional 41,504 shares in the last quarter. RD Lewis Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Vulcan Materials by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. RD Lewis Holdings Inc. now owns 4,030 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 25.2% in the second quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 2,928 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $764,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 598.5% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 719,924 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $187,771,000 after buying an additional 616,850 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 0.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 665,449 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $173,562,000 after buying an additional 5,323 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vulcan Materials Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE:VMC opened at $292.58 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $38.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $294.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $281.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.67. Vulcan Materials Company has a 52 week low of $215.08 and a 52 week high of $311.74.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The construction company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 12.52% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were given a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is currently 23.28%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.55, for a total transaction of $577,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $240,073.60. This represents a 70.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Thompson S. Baker II sold 4,853 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.63, for a total value of $1,434,692.39. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 41,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,264,210.55. This represents a 10.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,369 shares of company stock valued at $3,920,556. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $279.00 to $278.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $327.00 target price on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $317.58.

About Vulcan Materials

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.