Cherokee Insurance Co Takes Position in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Cherokee Insurance Co purchased a new stake in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,900 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $756,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,699,662 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,896,031,000 after purchasing an additional 347,155 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,967,777 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,625,583,000 after buying an additional 370,434 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Vulcan Materials by 0.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,491,618 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $906,961,000 after buying an additional 27,531 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 7.5% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,872,652 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $495,635,000 after buying an additional 130,949 shares during the period. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC increased its position in Vulcan Materials by 4.4% during the first quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,338,346 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $312,236,000 after acquiring an additional 56,345 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vulcan Materials Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE VMC opened at $295.20 on Thursday. Vulcan Materials Company has a 52-week low of $215.08 and a 52-week high of $311.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.23, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $296.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $280.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.67.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The construction company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by $0.12. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 12.52%.The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. Vulcan Materials’s revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on VMC. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Vulcan Materials from $303.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Citigroup cut their target price on Vulcan Materials from $356.00 to $342.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Vulcan Materials from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $327.00 price objective on Vulcan Materials in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Two investment 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $317.58.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Thompson S. Baker II sold 5,818 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.26, for a total value of $1,700,368.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP David P. Clement sold 698 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.56, for a total transaction of $208,394.88. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $845,521.92. This represents a 19.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.