Legal & General Group Plc Lowers Holdings in Valmont Industries, Inc. $VMI

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) by 23.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 31,405 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,374 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Valmont Industries were worth $12,635,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VMI. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries in the third quarter worth about $739,000. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Valmont Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,658,000. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in Valmont Industries by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 85,346 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,336,000 after acquiring an additional 10,518 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in Valmont Industries in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,663,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in Valmont Industries by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 283,740 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $110,015,000 after purchasing an additional 3,379 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valmont Industries news, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $492.34, for a total transaction of $8,615,950.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 112,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,294,213.06. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Valmont Industries Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of VMI opened at $542.68 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $316.56 and a 12 month high of $545.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $463.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $441.14. The firm has a market cap of $10.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.13, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.34.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $5.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.79. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 24.94% and a net margin of 8.91%.The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $994.85 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.32 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 22.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VMI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Valmont Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Valmont Industries from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Valmont Industries from $497.00 to $541.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Valmont Industries from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $525.25.

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.