Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. Raises Stake in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 13,453 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 2,453 shares during the quarter. Vulcan Materials accounts for approximately 1.7% of Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $3,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Vulcan Materials during the second quarter worth about $2,868,444,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $688,580,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Vulcan Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $451,119,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Vulcan Materials by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,346,422 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $366,592,000 after buying an additional 24,187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stockbridge Partners LLC bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $314,470,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on VMC. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings cut Vulcan Materials from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, September 24th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Monday, September 21st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $293.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vulcan Materials currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $318.21.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,000 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,914,731.60. This represents a 22.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Hill sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total transaction of $3,866,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 58,209 shares in the company, valued at $16,075,579.53. This represents a 19.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of VMC traded up $3.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $248.75. 333,457 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,163,644. The company has a market cap of $32.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.05. Vulcan Materials Company has a 1 year low of $237.03 and a 1 year high of $331.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $264.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $277.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 13.75%.The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 presently 24.56%.

Vulcan Materials Profile

Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) is a major producer and supplier of construction materials in the United States. The company primarily produces and distributes construction aggregates, including crushed stone, sand and gravel, which are used in infrastructure, commercial, residential and industrial projects.

In addition to aggregates, Vulcan produces asphalt mix and ready-mixed concrete and provides related construction-material services. Its products support highways, bridges, airports, buildings and other essential infrastructure.