Harfst & Associates Inc. Purchases Shares of 1,118 Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC)

Harfst & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,118 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $261,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VMC. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 239.8% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 739,003 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $190,094,000 after purchasing an additional 521,508 shares in the last quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 54.1% during the 4th quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,282,001 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $329,769,000 after purchasing an additional 450,000 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,507,892 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,518,291,000 after purchasing an additional 445,691 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 271.0% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 559,643 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $143,957,000 after purchasing an additional 408,803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 29,580.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 398,010 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $92,856,000 after purchasing an additional 396,669 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

VMC opened at $295.92 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $268.64 and a 200-day moving average of $258.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.33, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.83. Vulcan Materials Company has a 12-month low of $215.08 and a 12-month high of $298.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The construction company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 12.52% and a return on equity of 12.81%. Vulcan Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.35 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VMC shares. UBS Group raised Vulcan Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $280.00 to $318.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Stephens set a $315.00 price objective on Vulcan Materials and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $321.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $287.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $304.27.

About Vulcan Materials

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.