Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $21.90 Million Stock Holdings in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its holdings in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,769 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 7,191 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $21,896,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VMC. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new position in Vulcan Materials in the third quarter worth about $425,938,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Vulcan Materials by 5.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,625,271 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,345,703,000 after buying an additional 414,828 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Vulcan Materials by 993.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 396,628 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $113,126,000 after buying an additional 360,368 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials during the third quarter worth about $98,911,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Vulcan Materials by 1.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,207,183 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,293,274,000 after buying an additional 311,539 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Melissa H. Anderson sold 1,137 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.72, for a total transaction of $345,329.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VMC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Vulcan Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $333.00 price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $330.58.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of VMC stock opened at $263.06 on Thursday. Vulcan Materials Company has a 1 year low of $252.35 and a 1 year high of $331.09. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $279.12 and its 200-day moving average is $291.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.28, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The construction company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.25. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. Vulcan Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.73%.

Vulcan Materials Company 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.