Vulcan Materials Company $VMC Shares Bought by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 10.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 26,331 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,422 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $6,868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VMC. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Vulcan Materials by 11,723.8% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 425,538 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $99,278,000 after acquiring an additional 421,939 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 5.6% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,967,777 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,625,583,000 after purchasing an additional 370,434 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials in the first quarter valued at about $82,659,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 2.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,699,662 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,896,031,000 after purchasing an additional 347,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 310.6% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 299,954 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $69,979,000 after purchasing an additional 226,908 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Vulcan Materials

In related news, SVP David P. Clement sold 698 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.56, for a total value of $208,394.88. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Thompson S. Baker II sold 5,818 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.26, for a total value of $1,700,368.68. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VMC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Citigroup decreased their target price 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. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Vulcan Materials from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $279.00 to $278.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $317.58.

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 stock has a market cap of $39.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.23, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a fifty day moving average of $296.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $280.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The construction company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is presently 23.28%.

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.