BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Reduces Stake in AECOM (NYSE:ACM)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lowered its position in shares of AECOM (NYSE:ACM) by 47.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 68,031 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 60,876 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in AECOM were worth $7,026,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of AECOM by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 41,156 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,250,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in AECOM by 4.8% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 40,390 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,171,000 after buying an additional 1,867 shares during the period. Commerce Bank purchased a new position in AECOM during the third quarter worth about $211,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of AECOM by 1.1% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of AECOM in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $495,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on AECOM from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com raised AECOM from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 27th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of AECOM from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of AECOM from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on AECOM in a research report on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.38.

AECOM Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of ACM opened at $116.31 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.29, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $106.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.22. AECOM has a twelve month low of $82.23 and a twelve month high of $116.76.

AECOM (NYSE:ACM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 18th. The construction company reported $1.27 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. AECOM had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 25.46%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that AECOM will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AECOM Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This is an increase from AECOM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. AECOM’s payout ratio is 35.14%.

AECOM announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, November 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 transaction of $4,890,416.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,601,837.52. The trade was a 57.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AECOM 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.