Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 22,700 Shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its stake in shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI - Free Report) by 28.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,300 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 22,700 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.29% of Valmont Industries worth $17,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Valmont Industries by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,990,839 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $610,531,000 after acquiring an additional 6,967 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Valmont Industries by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 502,192 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $154,007,000 after buying an additional 94,884 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 335,926 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $97,428,000 after buying an additional 4,940 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 9.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 292,901 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $84,927,000 after acquiring an additional 24,224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 289,922 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $88,910,000 after acquiring an additional 1,289 shares in the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on VMI. StockNews.com downgraded Valmont Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 29th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Valmont Industries from $425.00 to $343.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. William Blair downgraded shares of Valmont Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $380.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

NYSE VMI traded down $3.76 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $277.35. 125,469 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 147,313. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.14 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $202.01 and a 1 year high of $379.22. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $312.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $319.28.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $3.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 23.15% and a net margin of 8.55%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.18 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 18.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Valmont Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.68 per share. This is a boost from Valmont Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Valmont Industries's payout ratio is presently 15.83%.

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.