Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases New Shares in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 6,700 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,824,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VMC. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $425,938,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $383,613,000. Egerton Capital UK LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $273,861,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 121.4% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 717,409 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $204,619,000 after acquiring an additional 393,339 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings 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 worth $113,126,000 after acquiring an additional 360,368 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,212 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.29, for a total value of $646,545.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,716 shares in the company, valued at $2,547,599.64. This trade represents a 20.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

Shares of VMC opened at $295.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $38.31 billion, a PE ratio of 35.11, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $285.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $290.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.89. Vulcan Materials Company has a 1 year low of $252.35 and a 1 year high of $331.09.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The construction company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.25. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 13.81%.The company 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 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.28 EPS for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective 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. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $298.00 to $293.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $333.00 price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $326.54.

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.