Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Shares Sold by Teza Capital Management LLC

Teza Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) by 93.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,441 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 22,338 shares during the quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $371,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,352,507 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,206,355,000 after acquiring an additional 90,157 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,062,201 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,559,380,000 after acquiring an additional 741,631 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,348,418 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $859,171,000 after acquiring an additional 36,833 shares during the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,746,482 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $449,248,000 after acquiring an additional 177,918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $380,369,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on VMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Vulcan Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $273.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Vulcan Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $302.91.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of VMC opened at $273.38 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $36.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.84. Vulcan Materials has a fifty-two week low of $215.08 and a fifty-two week high of $298.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 2.02. The business’s 50-day moving average is $247.65 and its 200-day moving average is $260.53.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.20. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 12.30%. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is presently 27.80%.

Insider Activity at Vulcan Materials

In related news, SVP David P. Clement sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total transaction of $405,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $764,640. This trade represents a 34.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Company 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.