Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Acquires 13,191 Shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its holdings in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) by 60.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,163 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,191 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $9,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Vulcan Materials by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,062,201 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,559,380,000 after acquiring an additional 741,631 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Vulcan Materials by 2.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,660,931 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $916,807,000 after buying an additional 78,271 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Vulcan Materials by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,311,585 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $826,644,000 after buying an additional 33,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stockbridge Partners LLC grew its stake in Vulcan Materials by 9.6% during the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,568,564 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $392,815,000 after buying an additional 137,365 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on VMC shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $325.00 to $301.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vulcan Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $298.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $245.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $305.00.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

VMC opened at $252.68 on Monday. Vulcan Materials has a one year low of $225.36 and a one year high of $298.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 2.02. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $266.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $261.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.89, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. Sell-side 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 issued a $0.49 dividend. This is a positive change from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.86%.

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.