Franklin Resources Inc. Has $43 Million Position in Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its stake in shares of Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 845,475 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 41,530 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 1.93% of Granite Construction worth $43,001,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 397,219 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $15,102,000 after purchasing an additional 53,438 shares in the last quarter. RPG Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Granite Construction by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. RPG Investment Advisory LLC now owns 295,031 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,005,000 after acquiring an additional 5,412 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Granite Construction in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,755,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new stake in Granite Construction in the third quarter worth approximately $8,554,000. Finally, Rock Point Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rock Point Advisors LLC now owns 138,430 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,263,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172 shares during the last quarter.

Granite Construction Price Performance

NYSE GVA opened at $62.43 on Friday. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 1 year low of $33.74 and a 1 year high of $64.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 105.81 and a beta of 1.45.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The construction company reported ($0.21) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $672.28 million during the quarter. Granite Construction had a net margin of 0.98% and a return on equity of 14.91%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Granite Construction Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Granite Construction’s payout ratio is 88.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Granite Construction

In other news, SVP Bradley Jay Williams sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.21, for a total transaction of $45,907.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,423 shares in the company, valued at $454,361.83. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Louis E. Caldera sold 1,263 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $63,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,528 shares in the company, valued at $426,400. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Bradley Jay Williams sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.21, for a total value of $45,907.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,423 shares in the company, valued at $454,361.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Granite Construction from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Granite Construction from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th.

Granite Construction Company Profile

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.