Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 7,293 Shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. $VMI

Handelsbanken Fonder AB trimmed its stake in shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) by 21.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,194 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,293 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned 0.13% of Valmont Industries worth $15,130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Valmont Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $99,799,000. Ninety One UK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $66,103,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 118.8% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 282,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $108,884,000 after buying an additional 153,418 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in Valmont Industries by 179.6% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 117,342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,320,000 after buying an additional 75,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Valmont Industries by 980.4% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 78,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,397,000 after buying an additional 70,817 shares during the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valmont Industries

In related news, CFO John L. Schwietz purchased 208 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were 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 owned 2,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,454,530.88. The trade was a 7.47% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Theodor Werner Freye sold 800 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,388,475. The trade was a 22.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on VMI. Weiss Ratings upgraded Valmont Industries from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. Oppenheimer set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Valmont Industries and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Valmont Industries from $645.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $587.00.

Valmont Industries Price Performance

VMI opened at $490.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $360.41 and a 12-month high of $585.71. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $529.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $484.07.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.34. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 11.70% and a return on equity of 25.57%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.88 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 23.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

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

Valmont Industries 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.