Eagle Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in AECOM (NYSE:ACM)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in AECOM (NYSE:ACM) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,402 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 859 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AECOM were worth $3,467,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ACM. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its stake in AECOM by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 41,156 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,250,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in AECOM by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 40,390 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank purchased a new position in shares of AECOM during the third quarter worth approximately $211,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of AECOM by 1.1% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,459 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $977,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of AECOM in the third quarter valued at approximately $495,000. 85.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACM has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on AECOM from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on AECOM in a report on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their target price on shares of AECOM from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of AECOM from $115.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of AECOM from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, AECOM currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.38.

AECOM Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE ACM opened at $116.89 on Tuesday. AECOM has a 52 week low of $82.23 and a 52 week high of $118.12. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $106.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $15.48 billion, a PE ratio of 39.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.17.

AECOM (NYSE:ACM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 18th. The construction company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. AECOM had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 2.50%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AECOM will post 5.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AECOM Increases Dividend

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

AECOM announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, November 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Gaurav Kapoor sold 42,400 shares of AECOM stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $3,601,837.52. This trade represents a 57.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

About AECOM

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.