Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 9,285 Shares of Quanta Services, Inc. (NYSE:PWR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Quanta Services, Inc. (NYSE:PWR) by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 196,708 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 9,285 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Quanta Services worth $49,982,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PWR. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Quanta Services by 384.9% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,438,653 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $526,261,000 after purchasing an additional 1,935,786 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Quanta Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $335,777,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its stake in shares of Quanta Services by 20,298.9% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,057,681 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $228,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052,496 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Quanta Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $227,218,000. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Quanta Services by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,643,733 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,726,042,000 after purchasing an additional 643,011 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.49% of the company’s stock.

Quanta Services Price Performance

NYSE PWR opened at $275.13 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Quanta Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.74 and a 12-month high of $286.87. The company has a market capitalization of $40.28 billion, a PE ratio of 53.32 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $260.27 and its 200-day moving average is $257.23.

Quanta Services (NYSE:PWR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The construction company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.15. Quanta Services had a net margin of 3.59% and a return on equity of 16.29%. The company had revenue of $5.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.47 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Quanta Services, Inc. will post 7.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quanta Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.13%. Quanta Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.98%.

Insider Activity at Quanta Services

In related news, insider Karl W. Studer sold 23,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.51, for a total value of $6,318,302.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,875,791.81. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Gerald A. Ducey, Jr. sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.93, for a total value of $3,868,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,490,297.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Karl W. Studer sold 23,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.51, for a total transaction of $6,318,302.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,875,791.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 202,357 shares of company stock valued at $53,115,572. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PWR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Quanta Services from $286.00 to $303.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Quanta Services from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Quanta Services from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Quanta Services from $299.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Quanta Services from $259.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $287.09.

Quanta Services Company Profile

Quanta Services, Inc provides infrastructure solutions for the electric and gas utility, renewable energy, communications, and pipeline and energy industries in the United States, Canada, Australia, and internationally. The company's Electric Power Infrastructure Solutions segment engages in the design, procurement, construction, upgrade, repair, and maintenance of electric power transmission and distribution infrastructure and substation facilities; installation, maintenance, and upgrade of electric power infrastructure projects; installation of smart grid technologies on electric power networks; and design, installation, maintenance, and repair of commercial and industrial wirings.