Covea Finance Acquires 3,500 Shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI)

Covea Finance grew its position in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI - Free Report) by 29.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,200 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the quarter. Covea Finance owned approximately 0.08% of Valmont Industries worth $4,661,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VMI. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in Valmont Industries by 93,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,862 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 1,860 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $528,000. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA purchased a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $205,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Valmont Industries by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 17,421 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,326,000 after purchasing an additional 2,521 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Valmont Industries by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 292,901 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $84,927,000 after purchasing an additional 24,224 shares in the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP R Andrew Massey sold 3,977 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $1,252,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,408 shares in the company, valued at $2,963,520. This trade represents a 29.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 20,000 shares of Valmont Industries 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 of the company's stock, valued at $45,963,231.60. The trade was a 13.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 41,977 shares of company stock worth $13,950,095. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Valmont Industries Price Performance

NYSE VMI traded up $11.65 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $325.21. 182,144 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 128,915. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $202.01 and a 12-month high of $354.13. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $328.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $301.64. The company has a market capitalization of $6.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.09 and a beta of 1.05.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $4.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.00 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 7.38% and a return on equity of 23.10%. Valmont Industries's revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.12 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 16.85 EPS for the current year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. Valmont Industries's payout ratio is 16.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VMI shares. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Valmont Industries from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Valmont Industries from $360.00 to $382.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th.

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.