Valmont Industries, Inc. $VMI Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) by 84.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 36,511 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Valmont Industries were worth $2,726,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Valmont Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Valmont Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valmont Industries in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on VMI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Valmont Industries from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Oppenheimer set a $600.00 price target on Valmont Industries and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Valmont Industries from $645.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $587.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO John L. Schwietz acquired 208 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $486.14 per share, for a total transaction of $101,117.12. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,454,530.88. This represents a 7.47% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Theodor Werner Freye sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total value of $396,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,805 shares in the company, valued at $1,388,475. This trade represents a 22.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Valmont Industries Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of VMI stock opened at $482.69 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $535.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $480.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.55. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $353.41 and a 1-year high of $585.71. The firm has a market cap of $9.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.80, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.33.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.34. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 11.70% and a return on equity of 25.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.88 earnings per share. Valmont Industries’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 22.96 EPS for the current year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 25th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Valmont Industries’s payout ratio is currently 11.99%.

Valmont Industries Company Profile

Valmont Industries, Inc (NYSE: VMI) is a diversified industrial manufacturer specializing in infrastructure and agricultural products. Headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, the company engages in the design, production and distribution of engineered products that support water management, power transmission, lighting and traffic infrastructure. Valmont’s solutions range from center-pivot and lateral-move irrigation systems to utility poles, transmission towers, lighting structures and highway traffic signal support structures.

The company operates through several core business segments.