1,278 Shares in Valmont Industries, Inc. $VMI Acquired by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,278 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $738,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VMI. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Valmont Industries by 8.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 422,997 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $164,009,000 after purchasing an additional 32,382 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 369,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $148,509,000 after purchasing an additional 12,480 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 3.1% in the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 290,948 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $112,809,000 after purchasing an additional 8,715 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 118.8% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 282,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $108,884,000 after buying an additional 153,418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 252,605 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $100,933,000 after buying an additional 9,130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Valmont Industries from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Valmont Industries from $645.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Wall Street Zen cut Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $600.00 target price on Valmont Industries and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valmont Industries currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $587.00.

Insider Activity at Valmont Industries

In related news, CFO John L. Schwietz purchased 208 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $486.14 per share, for a total transaction of $101,117.12. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 2,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,454,530.88. This represents a 7.47% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Theodor Werner Freye sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total value of $396,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,805 shares in the company, valued at $1,388,475. This represents a 22.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Valmont Industries Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Valmont Industries stock opened at $486.94 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $524.20 and a 200-day moving average of $485.67. The stock has a market cap of $9.40 billion, a PE ratio of 18.96, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.35. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $360.41 and a 52-week high of $585.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.35.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.34. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 11.70% and a return on equity of 25.57%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.88 earnings per share. Valmont Industries’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 23.08 EPS for the current year.

Valmont Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 25th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 25th. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.99%.

Valmont Industries Profile

Valmont Industries, Inc (NYSE: VMI) is a diversified industrial manufacturer specializing in infrastructure and agricultural products. Headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, the company engages in the design, production and distribution of engineered products that support water management, power transmission, lighting and traffic infrastructure. Valmont’s solutions range from center-pivot and lateral-move irrigation systems to utility poles, transmission towers, lighting structures and highway traffic signal support structures.

The company operates through several core business segments.