Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Reduces Stock Position in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its position in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 97.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,331 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 189,166 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $1,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 707.1% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 63,842 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $14,894,000 after purchasing an additional 55,932 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 27.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the first quarter worth about $585,000. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 2.2% in the first quarter. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. now owns 17,674 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,123,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the period. Finally, Fenimore Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 0.3% in the first quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc now owns 663,813 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $154,868,000 after buying an additional 2,188 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VMC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vulcan Materials from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Stephens set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $287.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $302.91.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VMC opened at $257.83 on Thursday. Vulcan Materials Company has a fifty-two week low of $215.08 and a fifty-two week high of $298.31. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $259.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $257.89. The company has a market capitalization of $34.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.42.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 12.91%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.80%.

Insider Activity at Vulcan Materials

In related news, SVP David P. Clement sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total transaction of $405,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $764,640. This trade represents a 34.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.