Pacer Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Position in Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Granite Construction by 69.6% during the first quarter, holding 319,662 shares worth approximately $24.1 million after selling 731,006 shares.
• Several institutional investors have either increased or initiated positions in Granite Construction, with notable increases from First Trust Advisors LP and Voya Investment Management, which boosted their holdings by 35.1% and 1,058.0% respectively.
• The Goldman Sachs Group raised its price target for Granite Construction from $69.00 to $76.00 while maintaining a "sell" rating on the stock.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA - Free Report) by 69.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 319,662 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 731,006 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 0.73% of Granite Construction worth $24,103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in Granite Construction in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Granite Construction by 214.2% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 377 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in Granite Construction by 68.4% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 325 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its position in Granite Construction by 80.3% in the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 640 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in Granite Construction by 26.5% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 674 shares of the construction company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Granite Construction from $69.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th.

Granite Construction Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE:GVA traded up $0.91 on Friday, reaching $95.78. 852,742 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 432,878. The business has a fifty day moving average of $91.27 and a 200-day moving average of $85.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.91 and a beta of 1.32. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 52-week low of $65.13 and a 52-week high of $105.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The construction company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by $0.44. Granite Construction had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.40%. The company had revenue of $699.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $706.15 million. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 5.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Granite Construction Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Granite Construction's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.67%.

Insider Activity at Granite Construction

In other Granite Construction news, SVP Brian R. Dowd sold 2,025 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.76, for a total transaction of $185,814.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 18,819 shares in the company, valued at $1,726,831.44. The trade was a 9.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kyle T. Larkin sold 3,617 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total transaction of $290,734.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 132,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,639,579.08. This trade represents a 2.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

About Granite Construction

Granite Construction Incorporated operates as an infrastructure contractor in the United States. It operates through two segments: Construction and Materials segments. The Construction segment engages in the construction and rehabilitation of roads, pavement preservation, bridges, rail lines, airports, marine ports, dams, reservoirs, aqueducts, infrastructure, and site development for use by the public and water-related construction for municipal agencies, commercial water suppliers, industrial facilities, and energy companies; and construction of various complex projects, including infrastructure/site development, mining, public safety, tunnel, solar storage, and power related projects.