Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Acquires 393,339 Shares of Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 121.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 717,409 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 393,339 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $204,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 0.3% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,293,316 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $397,795,000 after buying an additional 3,931 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 67.8% during the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 14,320 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,405,000 after purchasing an additional 5,787 shares in the last quarter. Interval Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 82.9% during the third quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 152,645 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $46,957,000 after purchasing an additional 69,189 shares in the last quarter. London & Capital Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 26.4% during the third quarter. London & Capital Asset Management Ltd now owns 108,087 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,248,000 after purchasing an additional 22,545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 57.2% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 155,291 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,759,000 after purchasing an additional 56,475 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

VMC opened at $286.21 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $282.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $290.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $37.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.05. Vulcan Materials Company has a 12-month low of $252.35 and a 12-month high of $331.09.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The construction company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.25. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 13.81%.The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VMC has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James Financial set a $325.00 target price on Vulcan Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup cut their target price on Vulcan Materials from $365.00 to $355.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson cut 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 target price (down from $335.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $322.00 to $321.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $326.92.

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.