Sei Investments Co. Purchases 9,371 Shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 344,477 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,371 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned 0.26% of Vulcan Materials worth $88,610,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,062,201 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,559,380,000 after purchasing an additional 741,631 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,281,102 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,322,546,000 after buying an additional 65,163 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Vulcan Materials by 2.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,660,931 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $916,807,000 after purchasing an additional 78,271 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,311,585 shares of the construction company's stock worth $826,644,000 after purchasing an additional 33,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stockbridge Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,568,564 shares of the construction company's stock worth $392,815,000 after purchasing an additional 137,365 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Vulcan Materials Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE VMC traded up $0.99 during trading on Thursday, hitting $238.05. The stock had a trading volume of 949,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 825,091. Vulcan Materials has a 12 month low of $215.08 and a 12 month high of $298.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 2.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $255.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $260.56. The company has a market capitalization of $31.45 billion, a PE ratio of 34.75, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.80.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 12.83%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.49 dividend. This is a positive change from Vulcan Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Vulcan Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VMC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $325.00 to $301.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $287.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $298.00 to $295.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Vulcan Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Vulcan Materials from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $302.67.

About Vulcan Materials

Vulcan Materials Company, together with its subsidiaries, produces and supplies construction aggregates primarily in the United States. It operates through four segments: Aggregates, Asphalt, Concrete, and Calcium. The company provides crushed stones, sand and gravel, sand, and other aggregates; and related products and services that are applied in construction and maintenance of highways, streets, and other public works, as well as in the construction of housing and commercial, industrial, and other nonresidential facilities.