Vulcan Materials Company $VMC Stock Holdings Lowered by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. reduced its holdings in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,401,790 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 109,637 shares during the period. Vulcan Materials makes up 1.3% of Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $399,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VMC. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $425,938,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $383,613,000. Egerton Capital UK LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $273,861,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 993.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 396,628 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $113,126,000 after acquiring an additional 360,368 shares during the period. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $98,911,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $322.00 to $321.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Oppenheimer assumed 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 target on shares of Vulcan Materials and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price target (down from $335.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $326.92.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

Shares of VMC opened at $286.21 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $282.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $290.02. Vulcan Materials Company has a 52 week low of $252.35 and a 52 week high of $331.09. The company has a market capitalization of $37.14 billion, a PE ratio of 34.03, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.05. 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 (NYSE:VMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The construction company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.25. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is presently 24.73%.

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.