Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $13.66 Million Holdings in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) by 30.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 47,124 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 20,613 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Valmont Industries were worth $13,664,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VMI. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Valmont Industries by 4.5% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 13,527 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,712,000 after buying an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Valmont Industries during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,676,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Valmont Industries by 1.4% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 5,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Valmont Industries by 3.1% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,253,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in Valmont Industries by 8.4% in the second quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 33,589 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,219,000 after purchasing an additional 2,611 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mogens C. Bay sold 20,000 shares of Valmont Industries stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.92, for a total value of $6,978,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 131,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,963,231.60. The trade was a 13.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP R Andrew Massey sold 3,977 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $1,252,755.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,963,520. This represents a 29.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,977 shares of company stock worth $13,950,095 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on VMI shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Valmont Industries from $360.00 to $382.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Valmont Industries from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th.

Valmont Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VMI opened at $306.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $330.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $298.61. Valmont Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $202.01 and a fifty-two week high of $354.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.82 and a beta of 1.03.

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $4.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.00 by $0.11. Valmont Industries had a net margin of 7.38% and a return on equity of 23.10%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.12 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Valmont Industries, Inc. will post 16.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valmont Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. Valmont Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.30%.

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.