Cloverfields Capital Group LP Makes New Investment in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Cloverfields Capital Group LP bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 18,681 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,087,000. Vulcan Materials accounts for about 1.6% of Cloverfields Capital Group LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Vulcan Materials during the 4th quarter worth $383,613,000. Egerton Capital UK LLP bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $273,861,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 121.4% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 717,409 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $204,619,000 after buying an additional 393,339 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the third quarter valued at $98,911,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 68.1% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 769,656 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $219,521,000 after acquiring an additional 311,723 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vulcan Materials Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:VMC opened at $275.01 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $35.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.70, a PEG ratio of 2.00 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 Company has a 1 year low of $252.35 and a 1 year high of $331.09. The business has a fifty day moving average of $286.53 and a 200-day moving average of $290.66.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The construction company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VMC. Zacks Research raised shares of Vulcan Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $333.00 target price on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $283.00 price target on shares of Vulcan Materials and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vulcan Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.79.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,212 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.29, for a total value of $646,545.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,716 shares in the company, valued at $2,547,599.64. This trade represents a 20.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.