Erste Asset Management GmbH Grows Holdings in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 1,198.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,644 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,824 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $3,225,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. National Pension Service boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 0.8% during the 2nd 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 period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,625,271 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,345,703,000 after purchasing an additional 414,828 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 12.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 104.3% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 72,113 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $22,183,000 after purchasing an additional 36,823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Vulcan Materials by 19.3% during the second 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Vulcan Materials Stock Up 0.4%

VMC opened at $310.10 on Friday. Vulcan Materials Company has a twelve month low of $215.08 and a twelve month 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $304.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $297.56. The firm has a market cap of $40.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.07.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last issued 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 analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.17 earnings per share. Vulcan Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This is an increase from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VMC shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vulcan Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Vulcan Materials from $316.00 to $296.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Vulcan Materials from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $327.00 price target on Vulcan Materials in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.64.

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.