Vulcan Materials Company $VMC Shares Acquired by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 8.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,762 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 7,000 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.07% of Vulcan Materials worth $26,690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $308,908,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Vulcan Materials by 12.3% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,824,987 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,040,914,000 after purchasing an additional 857,210 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 598.5% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 719,924 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $187,771,000 after buying an additional 616,850 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in Vulcan Materials by 48.3% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,511,427 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $464,945,000 after buying an additional 491,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 71.3% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 566,909 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $147,861,000 after buying an additional 236,058 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Vulcan Materials news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.55, for a total value of $577,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 832 shares in the company, valued at $240,073.60. This represents a 70.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Denson N. Franklin III sold 665 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total value of $196,175.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,780. The trade was a 7.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 20,471 shares of company stock worth $6,054,615 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Vulcan Materials from $279.00 to $278.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, B. Riley began coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $345.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $320.38.

Vulcan Materials Stock Up 0.4%

VMC stock opened at $300.67 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $39.73 billion, a PE ratio of 35.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $296.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $292.10. Vulcan Materials Company has a fifty-two week low of $215.08 and a fifty-two week high of $313.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The construction company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by $0.12. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 13.47%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. Vulcan Materials’s revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

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.