Howard Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 906 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VMC. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 19.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,320,570 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,332,431,000 after purchasing an additional 884,580 shares in the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 136.3% in the third quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 355,857 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $89,117,000 after purchasing an additional 205,260 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 32.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 736,146 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $184,353,000 after purchasing an additional 178,634 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 67.9% in the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 402,106 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $103,434,000 after purchasing an additional 162,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stockbridge Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $245.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vulcan Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Raymond James cut their price objective 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vulcan Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $304.55.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

Shares of VMC stock opened at $249.77 on Wednesday. Vulcan Materials has a one year low of $225.36 and a one year high of $298.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 1.83. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $265.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $261.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is a positive change from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.61%.

About Vulcan Materials

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.