Valmont Industries, Inc. $VMI Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its stake in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,720 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.26% of Valmont Industries worth $20,886,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VMI. Robert B. Daugherty Foundation acquired a new position in shares of Valmont Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $100,580,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Valmont Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $99,799,000. Ninety One UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Valmont Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $66,103,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 118.8% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 282,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $108,884,000 after acquiring an additional 153,418 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 882.8% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 98,962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,829,000 after acquiring an additional 88,893 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valmont Industries news, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $492.34, for a total value of $8,615,950.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 112,309 shares in the company, valued at $55,294,213.06. The trade was a 13.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

Shares of VMI stock opened at $532.47 on Wednesday. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $316.56 and a 12 month high of $548.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.38 and a quick ratio of 1.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $480.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $447.21.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $5.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.79. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 24.94%. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $994.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 22.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Valmont Industries’s payout ratio is currently 17.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VMI. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Valmont Industries from $497.00 to $541.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer set a $600.00 target price on shares of Valmont Industries and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Valmont Industries from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Valmont Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $525.25.

About Valmont Industries

Valmont Industries, Inc (NYSE: VMI) is a diversified industrial manufacturer specializing in infrastructure and agricultural products. Headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, the company engages in the design, production and distribution of engineered products that support water management, power transmission, lighting and traffic infrastructure. Valmont’s solutions range from center-pivot and lateral-move irrigation systems to utility poles, transmission towers, lighting structures and highway traffic signal support structures.

The company operates through several core business segments.