Vulcan Materials Company $VMC Shares Sold by Leavell Investment Management Inc.

Leavell Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 47,684 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,459 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $14,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Vulcan Materials by 1.2% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,895,644 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,406,722,000 after buying an additional 195,982 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,824,987 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,040,914,000 after acquiring an additional 857,210 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,558,791 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,449,844,000 after acquiring an additional 95,256 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,491,618 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $906,961,000 after acquiring an additional 27,531 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 6.1% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Denson N. Franklin III sold 665 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,780. This trade represents a 7.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,000 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.55, for a total transaction of $577,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $240,073.60. This trade represents a 70.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 20,471 shares of company stock worth $6,054,615 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VMC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $327.00 target price on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $342.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $279.00 to $278.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Vulcan Materials from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.92.

Vulcan Materials Stock Up 1.4%

Vulcan Materials stock opened at $306.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.44 billion, a PE ratio of 36.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 2.23. Vulcan Materials Company has a fifty-two week low of $215.08 and a fifty-two week high of $313.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $293.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $289.60.

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

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.