Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Shares Sold by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can cut its holdings in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Free Report) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 163,169 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 10,456 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.12% of Vulcan Materials worth $41,972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VMC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,352,507 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,206,355,000 after acquiring an additional 90,157 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $1,559,380,000 after purchasing an additional 741,631 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.1% during 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 buying an additional 36,833 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $380,369,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 877,701 shares of the construction company's stock worth $225,771,000 after buying an additional 13,227 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Vulcan Materials Stock Up 0.3 %

VMC stock traded up $0.62 on Tuesday, hitting $244.10. 389,298 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 921,277. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $243.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $259.64. 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 12-month low of $215.08 and a 12-month high of $298.31. The stock has a market cap of $32.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.67, a price-to-earnings-growth 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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 last year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. This is a positive change from Vulcan Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Vulcan Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on VMC. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Vulcan Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wolfe Research raised shares of Vulcan Materials from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group lowered Vulcan Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $343.00 to $258.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $298.00 to $295.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Vulcan Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $298.00.

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.