QRG Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) by 227.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,695 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,433 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $2,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VMC. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Vulcan Materials by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,320,570 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,332,431,000 after purchasing an additional 884,580 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 28,529.4% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 523,631 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $134,694,000 after purchasing an additional 521,802 shares in the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 136.3% in the third quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 355,857 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $89,117,000 after buying an additional 205,260 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 32.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 736,146 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $184,353,000 after buying an additional 178,634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 67.9% during the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 402,106 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $103,434,000 after buying an additional 162,567 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VMC shares. Raymond James decreased their price target on Vulcan Materials from $298.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $349.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Vulcan Materials from $325.00 to $301.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vulcan Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $304.55.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

VMC opened at $247.55 on Friday. 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 has a 1-year low of $225.36 and a 1-year high of $298.31. The company has a 50-day moving average of $264.32 and a 200-day moving average of $261.70. The company has a market capitalization of $32.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.14, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.84.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced 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. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 12.30%. The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This is a positive change from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.61%.

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.