Rhumbline Advisers Has $16.34 Million Stock Position in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI)

Rhumbline Advisers lowered its position in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI - Free Report) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 53,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,389 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.27% of Valmont Industries worth $16,339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VMI. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Valmont Industries by 5,505.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,009 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 991 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 3.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 13,934 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,040,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 35.4% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 214 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,325 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $674,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 69.4% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 15,250 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,390,000 after buying an additional 6,250 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.84% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VMI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Valmont Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. DA Davidson lowered Valmont Industries from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $380.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. 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 research note on Wednesday, February 19th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.92, for a total transaction of $6,978,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 131,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,963,231.60. This represents a 13.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

Valmont Industries stock traded up $4.78 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $347.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 139,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 122,835. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The company has a market cap of $6.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.24 and a beta of 1.05. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $202.01 and a 1-year high of $379.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $324.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $313.59.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 23.15% and a net margin of 8.55%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.18 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is a boost from Valmont Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Valmont Industries's payout ratio is currently 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.