HighTower Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 1.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 333,997 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,756 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.26% of Vulcan Materials worth $98,532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VMC. Groupe la Francaise acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the second quarter worth about $455,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 30,567.8% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 68,744,705 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $20,280,375,000 after acquiring an additional 68,520,546 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $451,000. Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,877 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $554,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kintra Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $242,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on VMC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Vulcan Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 29th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Vulcan Materials from $350.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vulcan Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $328.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vulcan Materials

In related news, Director J. Hill sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total value of $3,866,380.00. Following the sale, the director directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.10, for a total transaction of $570,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 6,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,914,731.60. This trade represents a 22.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 18,212 shares of company stock worth $5,083,125 in the last three months. 0.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

Shares of VMC opened at $262.93 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $282.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $283.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $34.07 billion, a PE ratio of 31.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.05. Vulcan Materials Company has a 52-week low of $252.35 and a 52-week high of $331.09.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.13. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 13.75%.The business had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 24.56%.

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.