D.A. Davidson & CO. Acquires 2,222 Shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI)

D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,931 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 2,222 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. owned approximately 0.23% of Valmont Industries worth $14,086,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 640,876 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $186,204,000 after buying an additional 6,913 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 57.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 407,308 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $123,512,000 after buying an additional 148,811 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Valmont Industries by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 349,426 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $101,316,000 after purchasing an additional 13,509 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Valmont Industries by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 335,926 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $97,428,000 after purchasing an additional 4,940 shares during the period. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Valmont Industries by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 307,338 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $89,113,000 after purchasing an additional 2,869 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.84% of the company's stock.

Valmont Industries Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of VMI stock traded down $13.74 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $349.17. 113,467 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 122,464. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $202.01 and a 1 year high of $379.22. The company's 50 day moving average is $323.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $311.72. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $7.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32 and a beta of 1.05.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.18 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 18.14 EPS for the current year.

Valmont Industries Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.92, for a total value of $6,978,400.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Valmont Industries

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.