American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 5,443 Shares of Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 262,232 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,443 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.20% of Vulcan Materials worth $80,668,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VMC. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 40.0% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,282 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $702,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in Vulcan Materials by 1,198.0% during the 3rd quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 10,644 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,225,000 after buying an additional 9,824 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 83,960 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,828,000 after buying an additional 8,499 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $205,000. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS grew its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 27,632 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,500,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on VMC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Vulcan Materials from $316.00 to $296.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. B. Riley Financial assumed coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Thursday, January 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $345.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $317.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vulcan Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $325.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Denson N. Franklin III sold 665 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,780. This represents a 7.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Melissa H. Anderson sold 1,137 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.72, for a total transaction of $345,329.64. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,937 shares of company stock valued at $2,687,784. 0.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

Shares of VMC stock opened at $299.85 on Wednesday. Vulcan Materials Company has a 52 week low of $215.08 and a 52 week high of $331.09. The company has a market capitalization of $39.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.93, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $304.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $297.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.69.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.11 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.56% and a net margin of 13.56%.The company’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.17 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is an increase from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is 24.14%.

About Vulcan Materials

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.