Symmetry Investments LP Cuts Position in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Symmetry Investments LP reduced its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) by 82.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,463 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 16,158 shares during the quarter. Symmetry Investments LP's holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $891,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in VMC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,352,507 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,206,355,000 after purchasing an additional 90,157 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Vulcan Materials by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,062,201 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,559,380,000 after acquiring an additional 741,631 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Vulcan Materials by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,348,418 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $859,171,000 after acquiring an additional 36,833 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter worth $380,369,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,163,900 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $299,390,000 after purchasing an additional 96,724 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Vulcan Materials Trading Up 2.6 %

Vulcan Materials stock opened at $240.36 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 1.83. Vulcan Materials has a 1 year low of $215.08 and a 1 year high of $298.31. The firm's 50-day moving average is $240.32 and its 200-day moving average is $259.39. The company has a market cap of $31.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.09, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on VMC shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group lowered Vulcan Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $343.00 to $258.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Vulcan Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vulcan Materials from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $293.64.

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.

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