Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Buys 664 Shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) by 65.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,681 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 664 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Valmont Industries were worth $461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,100,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $490,407,000 after purchasing an additional 54,189 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 401,313 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $93,711,000 after purchasing an additional 17,631 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 386,624 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $90,281,000 after purchasing an additional 13,756 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 39.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 258,845 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $71,040,000 after purchasing an additional 73,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 227,578 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,142,000 after purchasing an additional 31,017 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Valmont Industries

In related news, Director Theodor Werner Freye sold 1,600 shares of Valmont Industries stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.12, for a total transaction of $480,192.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,685 shares in the company, valued at $1,105,942.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Theodor Werner Freye sold 1,600 shares of Valmont Industries stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.12, for a total transaction of $480,192.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,685 shares in the company, valued at $1,105,942.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Timothy P. Francis sold 2,300 shares of Valmont Industries stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.49, for a total value of $686,527.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,471 shares in the company, valued at $2,826,998.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VMI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Valmont Industries from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Valmont Industries from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Valmont Industries presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $332.50.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

Shares of VMI opened at $274.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.63. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $188.63 and a one year high of $307.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.16 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day moving average of $280.34 and a 200 day moving average of $253.19.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.04 by $0.72. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 23.30% and a net margin of 4.09%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Valmont Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.62%.

Valmont Industries Company Profile

Valmont Industries, Inc operates as manufacturer of products and services for infrastructure and agriculture markets in the United States, Australia, Brazil, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Infrastructure and Agriculture. The company manufactures and distributes steel, pre-stressed concrete, composite structures for electrical transmission, substation, and distribution applications; and designs, engineers, and manufactures metal, steel, wood, aluminum, and composite poles and structures for lighting and transportation applications.