Natixis Purchases 9,821 Shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Natixis increased its position in shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) by 24.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,208 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 9,821 shares during the period. Natixis' holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $12,915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VMC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,352,507 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $4,206,355,000 after purchasing an additional 90,157 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,062,201 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,559,380,000 after buying an additional 741,631 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials in the fourth quarter worth $380,369,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Vulcan Materials by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,163,900 shares of the construction company's stock worth $299,390,000 after acquiring an additional 96,724 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VMC. 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. Wolfe Research raised Vulcan Materials from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group cut Vulcan Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $343.00 to $258.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Vulcan Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $273.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vulcan Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $293.64.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of VMC stock traded up $5.04 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $249.58. 748,354 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 925,197. Vulcan Materials has a fifty-two week low of $215.08 and a fifty-two week 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $239.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $259.29. The company has a market cap of $33.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. This is a boost from Vulcan Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Vulcan Materials's payout ratio is presently 28.61%.

Vulcan Materials Company Profile

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.