Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Has $54,000 Stock Position in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lessened its holdings in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) by 31.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 209 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 98 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $54,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,046 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 42.5% in the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 36,450 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,376,000 after purchasing an additional 10,870 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC boosted its position in Vulcan Materials by 86.5% during the fourth quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 12,493 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,214,000 after purchasing an additional 5,796 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, RD Lewis Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $999,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on VMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Vulcan Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Vulcan Materials from $325.00 to $301.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James cut their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $298.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vulcan Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $302.67.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of Vulcan Materials stock opened at $241.31 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $31.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $256.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $260.66. Vulcan Materials has a twelve month low of $215.08 and a twelve month 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 12.30%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is currently 28.61%.

About Vulcan Materials

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.