Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 33,051 Shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) by 284.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 44,650 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 33,051 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $11,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 19.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,320,570 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,332,431,000 after purchasing an additional 884,580 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,281,102 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,322,546,000 after buying an additional 65,163 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,660,931 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $916,807,000 after buying an additional 78,271 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,311,585 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $826,644,000 after buying an additional 33,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,130,537 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $533,551,000 after acquiring an additional 330,433 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VMC. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group started coverage on Vulcan Materials in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $349.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised Vulcan Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their price target on Vulcan Materials from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $245.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.33.

Vulcan Materials Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE VMC opened at $263.13 on Friday. Vulcan Materials has a 12-month low of $218.37 and a 12-month high of $298.31. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $274.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $257.34. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $34.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.81.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by ($0.12). Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 11.43%. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. Vulcan Materials’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Vulcan Materials will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is 29.02%.

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.