Rather & Kittrell Inc. Acquires Shares of 899 Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

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

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VMC. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Vulcan Materials by 273.4% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 295 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,000. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Vulcan Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 295 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on VMC shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $236.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Vulcan Materials in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $208.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Vulcan Materials from $263.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the company 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 research report on Friday, March 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $273.00.

Vulcan Materials Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of VMC traded up $2.70 during trading on Friday, reaching $261.24. 671,334 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 780,454. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $264.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $234.73. The company has a quick ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 3.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Vulcan Materials has a twelve month low of $166.54 and a twelve month high of $276.58. The stock has a market cap of $34.55 billion, a PE ratio of 37.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.83.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The construction company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 11.99% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This is an increase from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is currently 26.36%.

Vulcan Materials 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.