SlateStone Wealth LLC Buys 161 Shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

SlateStone Wealth LLC lifted its position in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,905 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $6,406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Vulcan Materials by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,062,201 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,559,380,000 after buying an additional 741,631 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,281,102 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,322,546,000 after buying an additional 65,163 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 2.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,660,931 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $916,807,000 after purchasing an additional 78,271 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,311,585 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $826,644,000 after purchasing an additional 33,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stockbridge Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 9.6% in the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,568,564 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $392,815,000 after purchasing an additional 137,365 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VMC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $325.00 to $301.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $298.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Vulcan Materials from $245.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $303.08.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

NYSE VMC opened at $231.70 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.82, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.80. Vulcan Materials has a twelve month low of $215.08 and a twelve month high of $298.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $258.29 and a 200 day moving average of $260.56.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 12.30%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. This is a boost from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.61%.

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.