Advisors Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Advisors Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,110 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 971 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $9,157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC grew its stake in Vulcan Materials by 20.9% during the second quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC now owns 9,686 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,526,000 after buying an additional 1,676 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 25,982.0% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 176,836 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $46,122,000 after acquiring an additional 176,158 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 34.5% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 96,640 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,206,000 after acquiring an additional 24,770 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Vulcan Materials by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 921,238 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $240,277,000 after purchasing an additional 21,566 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Vulcan Materials by 19.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 256,789 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $66,976,000 after purchasing an additional 41,504 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VMC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Citigroup reduced their price target on Vulcan Materials from $356.00 to $342.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $327.00 price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $279.00 to $278.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vulcan Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $317.58.

Vulcan Materials Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE VMC opened at $292.58 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $38.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Vulcan Materials Company has a 12 month low of $215.08 and a 12 month high of $311.74. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $294.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $281.83.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The construction company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.12. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 12.52% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 23.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,000 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.55, for a total value of $577,100.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 832 shares in the company, valued at $240,073.60. This trade represents a 70.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Thompson S. Baker II sold 4,853 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.63, for a total transaction of $1,434,692.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 41,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,264,210.55. This trade represents a 10.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 13,369 shares of company stock worth $3,920,556 over the last quarter. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.