Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 5.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,625,271 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 414,828 shares during the period. Vulcan Materials comprises 1.2% of Principal Financial Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Vulcan Materials worth $2,345,703,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $497,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 3.9% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,359 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,195 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $745,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 28.5% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,321 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $775,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 31.5% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 334 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Vulcan Materials news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.55, for a total transaction of $577,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $240,073.60. The trade was a 70.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Thompson S. Baker II sold 7,135 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.81, for a total transaction of $2,146,279.35. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,471 shares of company stock valued at $6,054,615. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vulcan Materials Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE:VMC opened at $300.67 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $296.09 and a 200-day moving average of $292.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.73 billion, a PE ratio of 35.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.06. Vulcan Materials Company has a 52 week low of $215.08 and a 52 week high of $313.37.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The construction company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by $0.12. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 14.19%.The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VMC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $310.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays boosted their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on Vulcan Materials from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $327.00 price target on Vulcan Materials in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Vulcan Materials from $279.00 to $278.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $320.38.

About Vulcan Materials

Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE: VMC) is a U.S.-based producer of construction materials that supplies the building and infrastructure markets. The company’s primary products include construction aggregates such as crushed stone, sand and gravel, as well as asphalt mixes and ready-mixed concrete. These materials are used in a wide range of projects including highways, commercial and residential construction, and public infrastructure.

Vulcan operates an integrated network of quarries, asphalt plants and concrete facilities to produce and deliver materials to contractors, municipalities and private developers.