EMCOR Group, Inc. (NYSE:EME) Holdings Cut by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in EMCOR Group, Inc. (NYSE:EME - Free Report) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 110,267 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 5,395 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.24% of EMCOR Group worth $40,758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in EMCOR Group by 21.8% in the first quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its holdings in EMCOR Group by 6.0% in the first quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 6,917 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,557,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in EMCOR Group by 5.8% in the first quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,032 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in EMCOR Group by 28.6% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 279 shares of the construction company's stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of EMCOR Group by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 11,012 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $4,084,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. 92.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EMCOR Group Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE EME traded up $2.07 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $548.35. The company had a trading volume of 383,258 shares, compared to its average volume of 450,526. EMCOR Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $319.49 and a fifty-two week high of $553.97. The company has a market capitalization of $24.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.23 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm's 50 day moving average is $482.37 and its 200 day moving average is $443.34.

EMCOR Group (NYSE:EME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $5.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.57 by $0.84. EMCOR Group had a return on equity of 37.12% and a net margin of 7.00%. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.17 EPS. The firm'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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EMCOR Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.18%. EMCOR Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 4.42%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robin A. Walker-Lee sold 947 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.83, for a total transaction of $390,950.01. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,094 shares in the company, valued at $2,928,616.02. This trade represents a 11.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Anthony Guzzi sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.03, for a total transaction of $3,052,210.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 208,989 shares in the company, valued at $91,125,473.67. The trade was a 3.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on EME shares. TD Securities started coverage on EMCOR Group in a research report on Friday, June 27th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Hovde Group upgraded EMCOR Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Baird R W raised EMCOR Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. William Blair assumed coverage on EMCOR Group in a research note on Friday, June 27th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on EMCOR Group from $514.00 to $503.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $516.33.

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.