Lazard Asset Management LLC Reduces Position in EMCOR Group, Inc. (NYSE:EME)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of EMCOR Group, Inc. (NYSE:EME - Free Report) by 74.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,911 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 8,684 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in EMCOR Group were worth $1,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in EMCOR Group in the fourth quarter valued at $971,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its stake in shares of EMCOR Group by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 800 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of EMCOR Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $439,000. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of EMCOR Group during the fourth quarter worth about $203,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of EMCOR Group by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,139 shares of the construction company's stock worth $517,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. 92.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on EME shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of EMCOR Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of EMCOR Group from $514.00 to $503.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, EMCOR Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $494.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Anthony Guzzi sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.03, for a total transaction of $3,052,210.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 208,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $91,125,473.67. This represents a 3.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robin A. Walker-Lee sold 947 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.83, for a total transaction of $390,950.01. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,094 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,928,616.02. The trade was a 11.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,197 shares of company stock valued at $3,905,748 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.26% of the company's stock.

EMCOR Group Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of EME stock traded down $8.28 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $464.24. 355,121 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 471,823. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $404.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $443.71. EMCOR Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $319.49 and a 52-week high of $545.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.58 and a beta of 1.18.

EMCOR Group (NYSE:EME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $5.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.57 by $0.84. EMCOR Group had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 34.99%. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.17 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that EMCOR Group, Inc. will post 20.74 EPS for the current year.

EMCOR Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.22%. EMCOR Group's payout ratio is 4.42%.

EMCOR Group declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

EMCOR Group Company Profile

EMCOR Group, Inc provides construction and facilities, building, and industrial services in the United States and the United Kingdom. It offers design, integration, installation, start-up, operation, and maintenance services related to power transmission, distribution, and generation systems; energy solutions; premises electrical and lighting systems; process instrumentation; low-voltage systems; voice and data communications systems; roadway and transit lighting, signaling, and fiber optic lines; computerized traffic control systems, and signal and communication equipment; heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration, and geothermal solutions; clean-room process ventilation systems; fire protection and suppression systems; plumbing, process, and high-purity piping systems; controls and filtration systems; water and wastewater treatment systems; central plant heating and cooling systems; crane and rigging services; millwright services; and steel fabrication, erection, and welding services.