Advisors Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,732 Shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 33,983 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,732 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $8,386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,801,257 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,093,432,000 after buying an additional 878,400 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Eagle Materials by 60.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,735,133 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $499,111,000 after acquiring an additional 652,836 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Eagle Materials by 3.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 707,607 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $203,585,000 after purchasing an additional 23,911 shares during the period. Baupost Group LLC MA raised its position in Eagle Materials by 46.2% during the third quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 500,273 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $143,904,000 after purchasing an additional 158,171 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 349,756 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $100,607,000 after purchasing an additional 9,216 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EXP. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Eagle Materials in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $242.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Loop Capital cut shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $292.40.

Insider Transactions at Eagle Materials

In other Eagle Materials news, Director Michael R. Nicolais purchased 310 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $257.36 per share, with a total value of $79,781.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $940,650.80. This trade represents a 9.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

Eagle Materials stock opened at $214.83 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $7.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $239.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $266.79. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 1 year low of $205.44 and a 1 year high of $321.93.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.97 by ($0.38). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 20.91% and a return on equity of 34.14%. On average, research analysts forecast that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is 7.14%.

About Eagle Materials

Eagle Materials Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells heavy construction materials and light building materials in the United States. It operates in four segments: Cement, Concrete and Aggregates, Gypsum Wallboard, and Recycled Paperboard. The company engages in the mining of limestone for the manufacture, production, distribution, and sale of Portland cement, including Portland limestone cement; grinding and sale of slag; and mining of gypsum for the manufacture and sale of gypsum wallboards used to finish the interior walls and ceilings in residential, commercial, and industrial structures, as well as well as containerboard and lightweight packaging grades; manufacture and sale of recycled paperboard to the gypsum wallboard industry and other paperboard converters; the sale of readymix concrete; and mining and sale of aggregates, such as crushed stone, sand, and gravel.