HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 5,696 Shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI)

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 167,036 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 5,696 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.83% of Valmont Industries worth $48,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Valmont Industries by 117.4% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 2,060.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 108 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valmont Industries in the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Quarry LP grew its position in Valmont Industries by 268.0% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 184 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Valmont Industries by 35.4% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 214 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.84% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 20,000 shares of the company'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 transaction 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. This represents a 13.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP R Andrew Massey sold 3,977 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $1,252,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,408 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,963,520. This trade represents a 29.71 % 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. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Valmont Industries Price Performance

Shares of VMI traded down $4.35 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $345.42. 76,444 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 152,754. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $202.01 and a 52-week high of $354.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $6.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.53 and a beta of 1.03. The company's 50-day moving average price is $321.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $290.56.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $4.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 23.10% and a net margin of 7.38%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. Valmont Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VMI shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Valmont Industries from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Valmont Industries from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Valmont Industries from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th.

Valmont Industries Company 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.