Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Purchases Shares of 3,280 Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC acquired a new position in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,280 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $968,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $68,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Vulcan Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $92,870,000. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vulcan Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $406,000. AMG National Trust Bank bought a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials in the second quarter worth approximately $270,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials in the second quarter worth approximately $192,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vulcan Materials news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,212 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.29, for a total transaction of $646,545.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,716 shares in the company, valued at $2,547,599.64. This trade represents a 20.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vulcan Materials Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of VMC stock opened at $272.14 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $35.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.13, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.06. 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. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $289.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $288.07.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. Analysts predict 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 paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VMC. Stifel Nicolaus set a $333.00 price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vulcan Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Vulcan Materials from $293.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Vulcan Materials from $355.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on Vulcan Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vulcan Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.93.

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.