Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Valmont Industries were worth $1,396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Valmont Industries by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,796 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,042 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 0.3% in the first quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 24,091 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,500,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 0.5% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 14,190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,240,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nicollet Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Valmont Industries by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,054 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,154,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Valmont Industries

In related news, Director Theodor Werner Freye sold 1,600 shares of Valmont Industries stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.12, for a total value of $480,192.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,105,942.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Theodor Werner Freye sold 1,600 shares of Valmont Industries stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.12, for a total value of $480,192.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,105,942.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Timothy P. Francis sold 2,300 shares of Valmont Industries stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.49, for a total transaction of $686,527.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,826,998.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Valmont Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VMI opened at $274.49 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.16 and a beta of 1.03. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $188.63 and a 12 month high of $307.67. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $280.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $253.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.04 by $0.72. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 4.09% and a return on equity of 23.30%. Analysts expect that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Valmont Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Valmont Industries’s payout ratio is 31.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on VMI. StockNews.com raised shares of Valmont Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Valmont Industries from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Valmont Industries from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.50.

Valmont Industries Profile

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.