Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Takes $42.52 Million Position in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 144,137 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,522,000. Vulcan Materials makes up approximately 1.2% of Ceredex Value Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,868,444,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,576,172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,016,168,000 after buying an additional 32,012 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 6.1% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,309,444 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $602,349,000 after buying an additional 133,523 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,727,232 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $492,642,000 after buying an additional 126,523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,346,422 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $366,592,000 after buying an additional 24,187 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

Shares of VMC opened at $270.63 on Friday. Vulcan Materials Company has a 12 month low of $252.35 and a 12 month high of $331.09. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $289.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $287.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.95, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.13. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.75% and a return on equity of 13.05%. The business had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VMC. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $355.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $333.00 price target on Vulcan Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Vulcan Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.93.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,000 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.10, for a total value of $570,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 6,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,914,731.60. The trade was a 22.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Profile

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.