Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Decreases Stake in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its position in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 45.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 217,523 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 179,105 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.17% of Vulcan Materials worth $59,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VMC. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,576,172 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,016,168,000 after purchasing an additional 32,012 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 0.4% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,318,474 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $713,209,000 after purchasing an additional 9,030 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,727,232 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $492,642,000 after purchasing an additional 126,523 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $425,938,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $383,613,000. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

VMC opened at $313.19 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.64 billion, a PE ratio of 37.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The business’s 50-day moving average is $285.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $290.59. Vulcan Materials Company has a 1 year low of $252.35 and a 1 year high of $331.09.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The construction company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.25. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VMC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Vulcan Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Berenberg Bank set a $283.00 target price on Vulcan Materials and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Vulcan Materials from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price target (down from $335.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Vulcan Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $326.92.

Insider Activity at Vulcan Materials

In other news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,212 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.29, for a total transaction of $646,545.48. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,547,599.64. This represents a 20.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials 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.