Empowered Funds LLC Takes Position in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 12,115 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,574,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 54.1% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 12,334 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,518,000 after acquiring an additional 4,331 shares during the last quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Vulcan Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $19,628,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials in the second quarter valued at $2,868,444,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 254,044 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $72,459,000 after buying an additional 17,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palmer Knight Co bought a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the second quarter valued at about $9,458,000. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Vulcan Materials

In other Vulcan Materials news, Director J Thomas Hill sold 14,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total value of $3,866,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 58,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,075,579.53. This represents a 19.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $646,545.48. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,716 shares in the company, valued at $2,547,599.64. The trade was a 20.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,212 shares of company stock worth $5,083,125. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VMC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $293.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Berenberg Bank set a $283.00 price target on shares of Vulcan Materials and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $330.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $310.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vulcan Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $328.64.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

NYSE VMC opened at $259.53 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.76. Vulcan Materials Company has a 52-week low of $252.35 and a 52-week high of $331.09. The company has a fifty day moving average of $285.22 and a 200-day moving average of $285.14.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.13. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 13.75%.The business had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 24.56%.

Vulcan Materials Company Profile

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.