Moors & Cabot Inc. Sells 222 Shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Moors & Cabot Inc. lowered its position in shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) by 19.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 943 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 222 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 19.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,320,570 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,332,431,000 after buying an additional 884,580 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 78.9% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 2,170 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $543,000 after buying an additional 957 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 11.0% in the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 4.3% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,722 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,433,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 2.3% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,268 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $568,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James reduced their price target on Vulcan Materials from $298.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Vulcan Materials from $325.00 to $301.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Vulcan Materials from $245.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Vulcan Materials in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $287.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine 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 an average target price of $303.08.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

Shares of VMC opened at $231.70 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $258.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $260.74. Vulcan Materials has a 52 week low of $215.08 and a 52 week high of $298.31. The stock has a market cap of $30.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.80.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 28.61%.

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.