Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Shares Acquired by Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,574 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $1,691,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,062,201 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,559,380,000 after acquiring an additional 741,631 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,281,102 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,322,546,000 after purchasing an additional 65,163 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 2.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,660,931 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $916,807,000 after purchasing an additional 78,271 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,311,585 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $826,644,000 after purchasing an additional 33,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stockbridge Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 9.6% during the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,568,564 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $392,815,000 after purchasing an additional 137,365 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vulcan Materials Stock Down 5.8 %

Vulcan Materials stock opened at $221.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 1.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.80. Vulcan Materials has a fifty-two week low of $218.71 and a fifty-two week high of $298.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $261.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $261.33.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 12.30%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. This is a positive change from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VMC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James cut their price target on Vulcan Materials from $298.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Vulcan Materials from $245.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $325.00 to $301.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $303.08.

About Vulcan Materials

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.