Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Takes $6.46 Million Position in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 21,264 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,460,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Vulcan Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $2,868,444,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the second quarter worth $688,580,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials in the second quarter valued at about $451,119,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $383,613,000. Finally, Stockbridge Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials in the second quarter valued at about $314,470,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VMC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $310.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $350.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $330.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $293.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $328.64.

Insider Activity

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

Vulcan Materials Stock Up 0.5%

VMC stock opened at $275.11 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $35.65 billion, a PE ratio of 32.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $286.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $286.28. Vulcan Materials Company has a 52 week low of $252.35 and a 52 week high of $331.09. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.13. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.75% and a return on equity of 13.05%. The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.56%.

Vulcan Materials 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.