The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Acquires 680,761 Shares of Vulcan Materials Company $VMC

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) by 908.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 755,682 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 680,761 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $205,772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VMC. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 4th quarter worth $497,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,359 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,017,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Vulcan Materials by 6.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,195 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $745,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in Vulcan Materials by 28.5% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,321 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $775,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Vulcan Materials by 31.5% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 334 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,212 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.29, for a total value of $646,545.48. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,547,599.64. The trade was a 20.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on VMC shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $310.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $322.00 to $321.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.79.

Vulcan Materials Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of VMC opened at $288.13 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $287.72 and a 200 day moving average of $290.41. Vulcan Materials Company has a fifty-two week low of $252.35 and a fifty-two week high of $331.09. The firm has a market cap of $37.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 2.59.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The construction company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 13.81%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials Company will post 9.3 EPS for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.73%.

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.