Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.52 Per Share

Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a dividend of 0.52 per share by the construction company on Monday, March 23rd. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. This is a 6.1% increase from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49.

Vulcan Materials has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 12 years. Vulcan Materials has a dividend payout ratio of 20.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Vulcan Materials to earn $9.72 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 21.4%.

Vulcan Materials Trading Down 4.5%

Shares of NYSE VMC opened at $274.42 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $304.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $297.52. Vulcan Materials has a 52-week low of $215.08 and a 52-week high of $331.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.69. The company has a market cap of $35.83 billion, a PE ratio of 33.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Vulcan Materials

In other news, Director Melissa H. Anderson sold 1,137 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.72, for a total value of $345,329.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Denson N. Franklin III sold 665 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $196,175.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,780. This trade represents a 7.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 8,937 shares of company stock worth $2,687,784 in the last three months. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vulcan Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 0.8% in the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 175,458 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $45,763,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 5.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,625,271 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,345,703,000 after buying an additional 414,828 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 12.3% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,824,987 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,040,914,000 after buying an additional 857,210 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 104.3% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 72,113 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,183,000 after buying an additional 36,823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Vulcan Materials by 19.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 256,789 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $66,976,000 after acquiring an additional 41,504 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.