Earnest Partners LLC Invests $91.88 Million in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI)

Earnest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 334,773 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $91,878,000. Earnest Partners LLC owned approximately 1.66% of Valmont Industries as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,100,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $490,407,000 after acquiring an additional 54,189 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Valmont Industries by 3.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 418,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $114,919,000 after purchasing an additional 14,168 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Valmont Industries by 39.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 258,845 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $71,040,000 after purchasing an additional 73,084 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Valmont Industries by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 227,578 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,142,000 after purchasing an additional 31,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $49,526,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Theodor Werner Freye sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.12, for a total transaction of $480,192.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,105,942.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Valmont Industries news, CFO Timothy P. Francis sold 2,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.49, for a total value of $686,527.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,826,998.79. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Theodor Werner Freye sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.12, for a total transaction of $480,192.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,105,942.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Valmont Industries from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Valmont Industries from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valmont Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $332.50.

Valmont Industries Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of VMI stock opened at $285.15 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $281.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $257.20. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $188.63 and a twelve month high of $307.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.53. The company has a market capitalization of $5.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.57 and a beta of 1.03.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.04 by $0.72. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 4.09% and a return on equity of 23.30%. As a group, research analysts predict that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Valmont Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.62%.

Valmont Industries Company Profile

Valmont Industries, Inc operates as manufacturer of products and services for infrastructure and agriculture markets in the United States, Australia, Brazil, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Infrastructure and Agriculture. The company manufactures and distributes steel, pre-stressed concrete, composite structures for electrical transmission, substation, and distribution applications; and designs, engineers, and manufactures metal, steel, wood, aluminum, and composite poles and structures for lighting and transportation applications.