Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Grows Holdings in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) by 161.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 4,704 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Valmont Industries were worth $2,336,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VMI. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in Valmont Industries by 371.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 21,927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,338,000 after acquiring an additional 17,278 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Valmont Industries by 4.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 349,426 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $101,316,000 after purchasing an additional 13,509 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its position in Valmont Industries by 171.5% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 5,219 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,513,000 after buying an additional 3,297 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in Valmont Industries in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,569,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Valmont Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at about $462,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VMI shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Valmont Industries from $387.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Valmont Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. William Blair downgraded Valmont Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, DA Davidson cut Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, February 19th.

Valmont Industries Price Performance

VMI opened at $285.43 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $328.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $320.57. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $202.01 and a 52-week high of $379.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61 and a beta of 0.98.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.21. Valmont Industries had a return on equity of 23.15% and a net margin of 8.55%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.18 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 18.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Valmont Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. This is a positive change from Valmont Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Valmont Industries’s payout ratio is currently 15.83%.

About Valmont Industries

Valmont Industries, Inc operates as manufacturer of products and services for infrastructure and agriculture markets in the United States, Australia, Brazil, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Infrastructure and Agriculture. The company manufactures and distributes steel, pre-stressed concrete, composite structures for electrical transmission, substation, and distribution applications; and designs, engineers, and manufactures metal, steel, wood, aluminum, and composite poles and structures for lighting and transportation applications.