Great Lakes Retirement Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in AECOM (NYSE:ACM)

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. increased its position in AECOM (NYSE:ACM) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 13,520 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc.’s holdings in AECOM were worth $1,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AECOM by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,270,408 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $233,918,000 after acquiring an additional 14,511 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in AECOM by 17.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,989,238 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $205,429,000 after purchasing an additional 289,513 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in AECOM by 40.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 768,266 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $79,339,000 after purchasing an additional 220,035 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in AECOM by 5.7% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 585,174 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $60,431,000 after purchasing an additional 31,299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in AECOM during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,201,000. 85.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AECOM Trading Down 1.4 %

ACM opened at $106.49 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $108.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.70. AECOM has a one year low of $82.23 and a one year high of $118.56. The stock has a market cap of $14.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.19.

AECOM (NYSE:ACM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The construction company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.21. AECOM had a return on equity of 26.84% and a net margin of 2.93%. On average, equities analysts forecast that AECOM will post 5.1 EPS for the current year.

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

AECOM Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.26 dividend. 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 yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. AECOM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on ACM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on AECOM in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AECOM from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 27th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on AECOM from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of AECOM from $128.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of AECOM from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AECOM has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $120.38.

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.