AlphaQuest LLC Purchases 4,765 Shares of Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 264.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,567 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 4,765 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $1,873,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VMC. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new position in Vulcan Materials during the third quarter valued at about $425,938,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Vulcan Materials by 5.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,625,271 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,345,703,000 after buying an additional 414,828 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Vulcan Materials by 993.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 396,628 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $113,126,000 after buying an additional 360,368 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in Vulcan Materials during the third quarter valued at about $98,911,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Vulcan Materials by 1.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,207,183 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,293,274,000 after buying an additional 311,539 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $296.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial set a $325.00 price target on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $330.58.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

NYSE VMC opened at $275.96 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $35.81 billion, a PE ratio of 32.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.09. Vulcan Materials Company has a 52 week low of $252.35 and a 52 week high of $331.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $279.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $290.59.

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

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 24.73%.

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.