Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Raises Holdings in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) by 29.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,052 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,601 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $1,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 47.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,503,484 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $909,794,000 after buying an additional 1,447,700 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 6.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,042,842 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $614,715,000 after buying an additional 194,337 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 2.2% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,481,652 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $501,343,000 after buying an additional 54,450 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 3.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,314,301 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $467,535,000 after buying an additional 83,185 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 4.4% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,330,004 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $268,688,000 after buying an additional 55,992 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VMC has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $263.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Vulcan Materials from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $264.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 price target (up from $245.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.08.

Vulcan Materials Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of VMC opened at $264.44 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $265.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $236.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.60, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.83. Vulcan Materials has a one year low of $187.20 and a one year high of $276.58.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The construction company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 12.32%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. This is a positive change from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is presently 26.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vulcan Materials

In other Vulcan Materials news, SVP Denson N. Franklin III sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.48, for a total value of $862,336.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,453,844.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Denson N. Franklin III sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.48, for a total transaction of $862,336.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,453,844.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Melissa H. Anderson sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.48, for a total transaction of $312,576.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 330 shares in the company, valued at $85,958.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,017 shares of company stock worth $3,344,741 in the last ninety days. 0.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vulcan Materials Profile

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.