Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Shares Sold by D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. trimmed its holdings in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) by 81.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,039 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 233,375 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $13,900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Vulcan Materials by 138.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 186 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on VMC shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Argus upgraded Vulcan Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wolfe Research upgraded Vulcan Materials from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, UBS Group cut Vulcan Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $343.00 to $258.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $297.45.

Vulcan Materials Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE:VMC opened at $268.91 on Wednesday. Vulcan Materials has a 12-month low of $215.08 and a 12-month high of $298.31. The firm has a market cap of $35.52 billion, a PE ratio of 39.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $242.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $260.37.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.20. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 12.30%. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.80%.

Vulcan Materials Profile

Vulcan Materials Company, together with its subsidiaries, produces and supplies construction aggregates primarily in the United States. It operates through four segments: Aggregates, Asphalt, Concrete, and Calcium. The company provides crushed stones, sand and gravel, sand, and other aggregates; and related products and services that are applied in construction and maintenance of highways, streets, and other public works, as well as in the construction of housing and commercial, industrial, and other nonresidential facilities.