Cornerstone Advisors LLC Makes New $9.56 Million Investment in Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

Cornerstone Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 32,410 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,561,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Grandfield & Dodd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials in the second quarter worth $3,954,000. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials in the second quarter valued at $6,167,000. MidFirst Bank purchased a new position in Vulcan Materials in the second quarter valued at $2,311,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Vulcan Materials in the second quarter valued at $2,868,444,000. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vulcan Materials in the second quarter valued at $689,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

Shares of VMC stock opened at $278.49 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $289.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.26. The company has a market cap of $36.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.88, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.06. Vulcan Materials Company has a 12 month low of $252.35 and a 12 month high of $331.09.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.13. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 13.75%.The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. Vulcan Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on VMC. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $310.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $333.00 price objective on Vulcan Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vulcan Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.93.

Insider Activity at Vulcan Materials

In other news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,212 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.29, for a total transaction of $646,545.48. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,547,599.64. This trade represents a 20.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Profile

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.