Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $1.82 Million Position in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 6,700 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,824,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VMC. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $497,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 3.9% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,359 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,017,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 6.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,195 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $745,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 28.5% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,321 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $775,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 31.5% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 334 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of VMC stock opened at $295.26 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $285.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $290.78. Vulcan Materials Company has a 12-month low of $252.35 and a 12-month high of $331.09. The firm has a market cap of $38.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.05.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The construction company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 13.81%.The company’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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%.

Insider Transactions at Vulcan Materials

In other Vulcan Materials news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,212 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.29, for a total transaction of $646,545.48. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,716 shares in the company, valued at $2,547,599.64. This trade represents a 20.24% 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. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VMC shares. Barclays upped their target price on Vulcan Materials from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Vulcan Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective (down from $335.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $365.00 to $355.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $333.00 target price on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $326.54.

About Vulcan Materials

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.