Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 105,690 Shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. $VMI

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) by 20.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 398,989 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 105,690 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Valmont Industries were worth $160,521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in Valmont Industries by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 85,346 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,336,000 after purchasing an additional 10,518 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new stake in Valmont Industries during the third quarter worth $1,749,000. Dakota Wealth Management bought a new stake in Valmont Industries during the fourth quarter worth $581,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Valmont Industries by 838.7% during the third quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 32,837 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,732,000 after purchasing an additional 29,339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Valmont Industries by 27.2% during the third quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,713,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $492.34, for a total value of $8,615,950.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 112,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,294,213.06. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Oppenheimer set a $600.00 price target on shares of Valmont Industries and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Valmont Industries from $497.00 to $541.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Valmont Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $525.25.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

Shares of Valmont Industries stock opened at $513.12 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $483.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $448.15. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $316.56 and a 1-year high of $548.90. The company has a market cap of $9.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.49, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.34.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $5.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.79. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $994.85 million. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 24.94% and a net margin of 8.91%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.32 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 22.83 EPS for the current year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.10%.

About Valmont Industries

Valmont Industries, Inc (NYSE: VMI) is a diversified industrial manufacturer specializing in infrastructure and agricultural products. Headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, the company engages in the design, production and distribution of engineered products that support water management, power transmission, lighting and traffic infrastructure. Valmont’s solutions range from center-pivot and lateral-move irrigation systems to utility poles, transmission towers, lighting structures and highway traffic signal support structures.

The company operates through several core business segments.