New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 800 Shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its stake in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,726 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Valmont Industries were worth $3,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VMI. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Valmont Industries during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Valmont Industries in the third quarter worth approximately $58,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Valmont Industries by 35.9% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. purchased a new position in Valmont Industries during the 3rd quarter worth $66,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its position in Valmont Industries by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

Valmont Industries Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE VMI opened at $347.48 on Friday. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $202.01 and a 12-month high of $379.22. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $327.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $314.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.96 billion, a PE ratio of 20.23 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.21. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 23.15% and a net margin of 8.55%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.18 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 18.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is an increase from Valmont Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Valmont Industries’s payout ratio is presently 15.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.92, for a total transaction of $6,978,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 131,730 shares in the company, valued at $45,963,231.60. The trade was a 13.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VMI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. DA Davidson cut shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Valmont Industries from $387.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th.

Valmont Industries 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.