Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Purchases 424 Shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 24,792 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 424 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $6,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VMC. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,062,201 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,559,380,000 after acquiring an additional 741,631 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,281,102 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,322,546,000 after purchasing an additional 65,163 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 2.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,660,931 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $916,807,000 after purchasing an additional 78,271 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,311,585 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $826,644,000 after purchasing an additional 33,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stockbridge Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 9.6% during the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,568,564 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $392,815,000 after buying an additional 137,365 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:VMC opened at $250.36 on Thursday. Vulcan Materials has a one year low of $225.36 and a one year high of $298.31. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $264.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $261.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 2.02.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.41. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 12.30%. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. This is a boost from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VMC. Raymond James decreased their target price on Vulcan Materials from $298.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $349.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $325.00 to $301.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Vulcan Materials from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $304.55.

About Vulcan Materials

Vulcan Materials Company, together with its subsidiaries, produces and supplies construction aggregates primarily in the United States. It operates through four segments: Aggregates, Asphalt, Concrete, and Calcium. The company provides crushed stones, sand and gravel, sand, and other aggregates; and related products and services that are applied in construction and maintenance of highways, streets, and other public works, as well as in the construction of housing and commercial, industrial, and other nonresidential facilities.