American Century Companies Inc. Increases Position in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) by 637.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 197,714 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 170,901 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $50,858,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,062,201 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,559,380,000 after acquiring an additional 741,631 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,281,102 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,322,546,000 after purchasing an additional 65,163 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Vulcan Materials by 2.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Vulcan Materials by 1.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Stockbridge Partners LLC grew 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 valued at $392,815,000 after purchasing an additional 137,365 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VMC opened at $236.97 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $255.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $260.56. Vulcan Materials has a 52 week low of $215.08 and a 52 week high of $298.31. The company has a market cap of $31.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.41. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $325.00 to $301.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Vulcan Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $302.67.

Vulcan Materials 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.