Rather & Kittrell Inc. Invests $204,000 in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Rather & Kittrell Inc. purchased a new position in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 899 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VMC. Syon Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 2,301 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $522,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,102 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $704,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 3,574 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $811,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 15,319 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,478,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vulcan Materials news, SVP Denson N. Franklin III sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.48, for a total transaction of $862,336.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,453,844.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Stanley G. Bass sold 8,310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.68, for a total value of $2,091,460.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,376,992.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Denson N. Franklin III sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.48, for a total transaction of $862,336.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,453,844.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,017 shares of company stock worth $3,344,741 in the last 90 days. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of VMC stock traded up $2.70 on Friday, hitting $261.24. 671,334 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 780,454. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 3.17 and a quick ratio of 2.39. Vulcan Materials has a 52 week low of $166.54 and a 52 week high of $276.58. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $264.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $234.73. The firm has a market cap of $34.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.43, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.83.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The construction company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 11.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vulcan Materials will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. This is a boost from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $264.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $298.00 to $319.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Vulcan Materials from $236.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Vulcan Materials from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $273.00.

Vulcan Materials Company Profile

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.