Hsbc Holdings PLC Takes Position in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 252,748 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,688,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VMC. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Vulcan Materials during the second quarter valued at $2,868,444,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $451,119,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the 4th quarter worth $383,613,000. Stockbridge Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $314,470,000. Finally, Egerton Capital UK LLP bought a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $273,861,000. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VMC. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $310.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Stephens increased their price target on Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays raised their price target on Vulcan Materials from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $283.00 price objective on Vulcan Materials and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $328.64.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

VMC stock opened at $273.79 on Thursday. Vulcan Materials Company has a 52 week low of $252.35 and a 52 week high of $331.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $287.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $286.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.75% and a return on equity of 13.05%. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is presently 24.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vulcan Materials news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.10, for a total transaction of $570,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 6,716 shares in the company, valued at $1,914,731.60. This represents a 22.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.