Townsquare Capital LLC Purchases 2,357 Shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) by 53.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,727 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 2,357 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $1,685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VMC. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Vulcan Materials by 55.7% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 217,495 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $54,467,000 after acquiring an additional 77,843 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 622.4% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 29,302 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,338,000 after purchasing an additional 25,246 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,660,931 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $916,807,000 after buying an additional 78,271 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 173,625 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $43,448,000 after buying an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 38.9% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 136,737 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $34,243,000 after buying an additional 38,329 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VMC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on Vulcan Materials from $297.00 to $292.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vulcan Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $267.00 to $257.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.92.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Vulcan Materials stock opened at $288.13 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $265.28 and its 200 day moving average is $255.16. Vulcan Materials has a one year low of $209.60 and a one year high of $298.31. The firm has a market cap of $38.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.02.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by ($0.12). Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 11.43%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Vulcan Materials will post 7.16 EPS for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is currently 29.02%.

Vulcan Materials Company Profile

Vulcan Materials Company, together with its subsidiaries, produces and supplies construction aggregates primarily in the United States. It operates through four segments: Aggregates, Asphalt, Concrete, and Calcium. The company provides crushed stones, sand and gravel, sand, and other aggregates; and related products and services that are applied in construction and maintenance of highways, streets, and other public works, as well as in the construction of housing and commercial, industrial, and other nonresidential facilities.