Vulcan Materials Company $VMC Shares Sold by Westfield Capital Management Co. LP

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP cut its position in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 236,556 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 12,127 shares during the quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned about 0.18% of Vulcan Materials worth $72,769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,207,183 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,293,274,000 after buying an additional 311,539 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Vulcan Materials by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,924,285 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,437,669,000 after acquiring an additional 99,298 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Vulcan Materials by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,625,271 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,345,703,000 after acquiring an additional 414,828 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Vulcan Materials by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,558,791 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,449,844,000 after acquiring an additional 95,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Vulcan Materials by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,491,618 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $906,961,000 after acquiring an additional 27,531 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VMC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. B. Riley Financial started coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $345.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $317.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vulcan Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $342.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.64.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

Shares of VMC opened at $305.61 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $303.65 and its 200-day moving average is $297.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.97. Vulcan Materials Company has a 12-month low of $215.08 and a 12-month high of $331.09.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.11 by ($0.41). The business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.56% and a return on equity of 12.56%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.17 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials Company will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 24.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Melissa H. Anderson sold 1,137 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.72, for a total value of $345,329.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Denson N. Franklin III sold 665 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total value of $196,175.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,780. This represents a 7.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 8,937 shares of company stock worth $2,687,784 in the last three months. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Vulcan Materials

Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE: VMC) is a U.S.-based producer of construction materials that supplies the building and infrastructure markets. The company’s primary products include construction aggregates such as crushed stone, sand and gravel, as well as asphalt mixes and ready-mixed concrete. These materials are used in a wide range of projects including highways, commercial and residential construction, and public infrastructure.

Vulcan operates an integrated network of quarries, asphalt plants and concrete facilities to produce and deliver materials to contractors, municipalities and private developers.