AECOM (NYSE:ACM) Stake Boosted by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AECOM (NYSE:ACM) by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 40,390 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,867 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AECOM were worth $4,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Commerce Bank acquired a new position in shares of AECOM in the 3rd quarter valued at about $211,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in AECOM by 1.1% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,459 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $977,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in AECOM in the third quarter valued at approximately $495,000. Caprock Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of AECOM by 26.2% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,234 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of AECOM by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 403,980 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,719,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. 85.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AECOM Price Performance

Shares of ACM opened at $116.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $15.59 billion, a PE ratio of 39.29, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $105.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.06. AECOM has a twelve month low of $82.23 and a twelve month high of $116.76.

AECOM (NYSE:ACM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 18th. The construction company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. AECOM had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 25.28%. AECOM’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that AECOM will post 4.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AECOM declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, November 18th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

AECOM Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. This is a boost from AECOM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. AECOM’s payout ratio is currently 29.73%.

Insider Transactions at AECOM

In other news, CFO Gaurav Kapoor sold 42,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.34, for a total value of $4,890,416.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,601,837.52. The trade was a 57.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on AECOM from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of AECOM from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on AECOM in a report on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of AECOM from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of AECOM from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 27th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $119.38.

AECOM Company Profile

AECOM, together with its subsidiaries, provides professional infrastructure consulting services worldwide. It operates in three segments: Americas, International, and AECOM Capital. The company offers planning, consulting, architectural and engineering design, construction and program management, and investment and development services to public and private clients.