Gabelli Funds LLC Sells 2,396 Shares of Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Gabelli Funds LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 6.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 36,496 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,396 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $9,938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VMC. NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new position in Vulcan Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 71.7% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 103 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,212 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,547,599.64. This represents a 20.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE VMC opened at $280.20 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.32, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $286.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $290.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 2.59. Vulcan Materials Company has a 52 week low of $252.35 and a 52 week high of $331.09.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The construction company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 13.81%.The business’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is currently 24.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VMC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Berenberg Bank set a $283.00 price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $298.00 to $293.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Vulcan Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $350.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vulcan Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.79.

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.