Man Group plc Takes Position in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Man Group plc purchased a new stake in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 11,288 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,330,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Vulcan Materials during the second quarter valued at about $2,868,444,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,576,172 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,016,168,000 after acquiring an additional 32,012 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 6.1% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,309,444 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $602,349,000 after acquiring an additional 133,523 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,727,232 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $492,642,000 after acquiring an additional 126,523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Vulcan Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $451,119,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Stock Down 1.8%

Vulcan Materials stock opened at $269.62 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $286.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $285.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Vulcan Materials Company has a 1-year low of $252.35 and a 1-year high of $331.09.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.75% and a return on equity of 13.05%. Vulcan Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 13th. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 24.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VMC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on Vulcan Materials from $355.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $310.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $330.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $283.00 price objective on Vulcan Materials and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $328.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director J Thomas Hill sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total transaction of $3,866,380.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 58,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,075,579.53. This represents a 19.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.10, for a total value of $570,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 6,716 shares in the company, valued at $1,914,731.60. The trade was a 22.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,212 shares of company stock valued at $5,083,125. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vulcan Materials Profile

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.