SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Purchases New Position in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 119 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $811,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 149.4% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,416,000 after buying an additional 5,627 shares in the last quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $514,000. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,719,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 284.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,650 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $11,104,000 after buying an additional 33,051 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VMC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Vulcan Materials from $245.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Vulcan Materials in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $287.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Vulcan Materials from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $303.08.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of VMC stock opened at $227.18 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $259.40 and its 200-day moving average is $260.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.01 billion, a PE ratio of 33.16, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.80. Vulcan Materials has a 52 week low of $215.08 and a 52 week 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.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion for 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 last year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.49 dividend. This is a boost from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.61%.

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.