Martin Currie Ltd. Boosts Stock Holdings in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI)

Martin Currie Ltd. grew its position in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) by 35.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,857 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares during the quarter. Martin Currie Ltd.’s holdings in Valmont Industries were worth $1,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Valmont Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $67,822,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 57.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 407,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $123,512,000 after acquiring an additional 148,811 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries by 2,077.0% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 58,779 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,026,000 after purchasing an additional 56,079 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Valmont Industries by 16.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 247,714 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $71,825,000 after purchasing an additional 34,772 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Valmont Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $8,275,000. 87.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VMI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. William Blair cut Valmont Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. DA Davidson lowered Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Valmont Industries from $387.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th.

Valmont Industries Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE VMI opened at $289.99 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business’s 50 day moving average is $329.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $320.12. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $202.01 and a 52-week high of $379.22. The firm has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88 and a beta of 0.98.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.21. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 23.15% and a net margin of 8.55%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.18 EPS. Research analysts predict that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 18.07 EPS for the current year.

Valmont Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.68 dividend. This is a positive change from Valmont Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.83%.

Valmont Industries Profile

Valmont Industries, Inc operates as manufacturer of products and services for infrastructure and agriculture markets in the United States, Australia, Brazil, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Infrastructure and Agriculture. The company manufactures and distributes steel, pre-stressed concrete, composite structures for electrical transmission, substation, and distribution applications; and designs, engineers, and manufactures metal, steel, wood, aluminum, and composite poles and structures for lighting and transportation applications.