Harfst & Associates Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Harfst & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 470.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,378 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 5,260 shares during the quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $1,664,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Unified Investment Management raised its position in Vulcan Materials by 1.7% in the second quarter. Unified Investment Management now owns 2,259 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 648 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $169,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Vulcan Materials by 3.0% in the second quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,343 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 86.3% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 95 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VMC. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Vulcan Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $317.58.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,000 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.55, for a total value of $577,100.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $240,073.60. The trade was a 70.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Thompson S. Baker II sold 5,818 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.26, for a total transaction of $1,700,368.68. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 13,369 shares of company stock valued at $3,920,556 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

Shares of VMC opened at $294.97 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.97 billion, a PE ratio of 41.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $294.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $281.93. Vulcan Materials Company has a 52-week low of $215.08 and a 52-week high of $311.74.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The construction company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.12. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 12.52% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 23.28%.

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.