Citigroup Inc. Sells 14,606 Shares of Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Citigroup Inc. lessened its stake in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 139,436 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 14,606 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $42,893,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VMC. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Vulcan Materials by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 84 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VMC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Vulcan Materials from $316.00 to $296.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen cut Vulcan Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Citigroup raised their price target on Vulcan Materials from $342.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, B. Riley Financial assumed coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Thursday, January 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $345.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.64.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

VMC opened at $317.89 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $303.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $297.21. Vulcan Materials Company has a 1 year low of $215.08 and a 1 year high of $331.09. The company has a market capitalization of $41.51 billion, a PE ratio of 39.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.07.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.41). The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.56% and a net margin of 13.56%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.17 EPS. Research analysts expect that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is presently 24.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Thompson S. Baker II sold 7,135 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.81, for a total value of $2,146,279.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Denson N. Franklin III sold 665 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total value of $196,175.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,284 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,780. This represents a 7.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 8,937 shares of company stock worth $2,687,784 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Company Profile

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.