National Bank of Canada FI Sells 5,495 Shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

National Bank of Canada FI lowered its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 73,046 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 5,495 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $18,790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 19.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,320,570 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,332,431,000 after purchasing an additional 884,580 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in Vulcan Materials by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,766 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,444,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new position in Vulcan Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,952,000. Centiva Capital LP increased its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 34.2% during the third quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 4,025 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 1,025 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 46.8% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 4,391 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,100,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on VMC shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised Vulcan Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Vulcan Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $287.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $305.58.

Vulcan Materials Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of VMC stock opened at $237.69 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $250.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $260.48. Vulcan Materials has a 1-year low of $215.08 and a 1-year high of $298.31. The company has a market cap of $31.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 2.02.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.41. The business 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 previous year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is 28.61%.

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.