Raymond James & Associates Purchases 2,934 Shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 214,896 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,934 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.16% of Vulcan Materials worth $48,783,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Achmea Investment Management B.V. bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Money Concepts Capital Corp bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $236.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $264.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Vulcan Materials from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vulcan Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.54.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VMC opened at $272.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a current ratio of 3.17. The company has a market cap of $36.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $250.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $226.01. Vulcan Materials has a 52-week low of $162.00 and a 52-week high of $276.58.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The construction company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.06. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 11.99% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This is an increase from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is 26.36%.

Insider Transactions at Vulcan Materials

In other news, SVP Denson N. Franklin III sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.48, for a total value of $862,336.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,453,844.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Denson N. Franklin III sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.48, for a total transaction of $862,336.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,453,844.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Stanley G. Bass sold 8,310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.68, for a total transaction of $2,091,460.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,311 shares in the company, valued at $7,376,992.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,017 shares of company stock worth $3,344,741 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

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.