Veritas Asset Management LLP Takes Position in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 1,039,426 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $306,641,000. Vulcan Materials comprises approximately 5.7% of Veritas Asset Management LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Vulcan Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 71.7% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 103 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials in the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Vulcan Materials stock traded down $3.77 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $258.86. 958,842 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,154,381. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.56, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.05. Vulcan Materials Company has a 12-month low of $252.35 and a 12-month high of $331.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $280.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $283.23.

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

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 24.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vulcan Materials news, SVP David Clement sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 6,716 shares in the company, valued at $1,914,731.60. The trade was a 22.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Hill sold 14,000 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total value of $3,866,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 58,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,075,579.53. This trade represents a 19.39% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 18,212 shares of company stock valued at $5,083,125 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VMC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $293.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $355.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $283.00 price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $328.64.

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.