Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI - Free Report) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,394 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 730 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of Valmont Industries worth $14,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its stake in Valmont Industries by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 56,193 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $17,233,000 after acquiring an additional 8,330 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Valmont Industries by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,076 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 24,340 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,464,000 after purchasing an additional 1,543 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 34.3% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 15,436 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,734,000 after purchasing an additional 3,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valmont Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $8,275,000. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valmont Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VMI traded up $4.71 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $347.48. 168,249 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 125,150. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $327.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $314.76. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $202.01 and a 1 year high of $379.22. The company has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.23 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.07.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.21. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 23.15%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.18 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. This is a boost from Valmont Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Valmont Industries's payout ratio is presently 15.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Valmont Industries from $387.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. DA Davidson cut Valmont Industries from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $380.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Valmont Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 20,000 shares of Valmont Industries 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.