Vontobel Holding Ltd. Purchases 491,957 Shares of Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 48.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,511,427 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 491,957 shares during the quarter. Vulcan Materials makes up 1.4% of Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned 1.14% of Vulcan Materials worth $464,945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $497,000. CW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vulcan Materials in the 1st quarter worth approximately $351,000. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 46,886 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $10,938,000 after purchasing an additional 5,148 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 63,986 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $14,928,000 after purchasing an additional 1,583 shares during the period. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 362,701 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $84,618,000 after buying an additional 18,780 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Vulcan Materials to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Vulcan Materials from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $327.00 price target on Vulcan Materials in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $279.00 to $278.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $317.58.

Insider Activity

In other Vulcan Materials news, SVP Denson N. Franklin III sold 665 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total value of $196,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,780. The trade was a 7.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Thompson S. Baker II sold 7,135 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.81, for a total transaction of $2,146,279.35. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,471 shares of company stock valued at $6,054,615. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Vulcan Materials stock opened at $292.84 on Wednesday. Vulcan Materials Company has a 12-month low of $215.08 and a 12-month high of $311.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $291.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $285.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.69 billion, a PE ratio of 34.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.06.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The construction company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by $0.12. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 14.19%.The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is currently 23.28%.

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.