California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 5,577 Shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP - Free Report) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,472 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 5,577 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.18% of Eagle Materials worth $14,675,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 78.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,948 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $10,915,000 after acquiring an additional 16,645 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Eagle Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $8,890,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Eagle Materials by 242.4% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,789 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,922,000 after buying an additional 5,514 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 60.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,735,133 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $499,111,000 after buying an additional 652,836 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $38,115,000. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Eagle Materials Price Performance

Shares of Eagle Materials stock traded up $18.95 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $224.87. The stock had a trading volume of 784,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 329,827. The firm has a market cap of $7.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.06 and a beta of 1.25. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 12 month low of $201.61 and a 12 month high of $321.93. The business's 50-day moving average is $228.83 and its 200 day moving average is $261.51. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.97 by ($0.38). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 20.91% and a return on equity of 34.14%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Eagle Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on EXP shares. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Eagle Materials in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $242.00 price objective for the company. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup cut shares of Eagle Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $334.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Eagle Materials from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $279.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eagle Materials

In related news, Director Michael R. Nicolais acquired 310 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $257.36 per share, for a total transaction of $79,781.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $940,650.80. This represents a 9.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Eagle Materials Company Profile

Eagle Materials Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells heavy construction materials and light building materials in the United States. It operates in four segments: Cement, Concrete and Aggregates, Gypsum Wallboard, and Recycled Paperboard. The company engages in the mining of limestone for the manufacture, production, distribution, and sale of Portland cement, including Portland limestone cement; grinding and sale of slag; and mining of gypsum for the manufacture and sale of gypsum wallboards used to finish the interior walls and ceilings in residential, commercial, and industrial structures, as well as well as containerboard and lightweight packaging grades; manufacture and sale of recycled paperboard to the gypsum wallboard industry and other paperboard converters; the sale of readymix concrete; and mining and sale of aggregates, such as crushed stone, sand, and gravel.