Swiss National Bank Boosts Stake in AECOM (NYSE:ACM)

Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of AECOM (NYSE:ACM) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 403,980 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in AECOM were worth $41,719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ACM. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in AECOM by 9.7% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 37,122 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,833,000 after purchasing an additional 3,281 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AECOM by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,389 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $970,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of AECOM by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,949 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV raised its stake in shares of AECOM by 150.0% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 27,000 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,788,000 after acquiring an additional 16,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in AECOM by 11.8% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 21,536 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,224,000 after acquiring an additional 2,275 shares during the last quarter. 85.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AECOM Stock Performance

ACM opened at $109.48 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $14.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.60, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $105.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. AECOM has a 52-week low of $82.23 and a 52-week high of $115.74.

AECOM (NYSE:ACM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 18th. The construction company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.03. AECOM had a return on equity of 24.14% and a net margin of 1.61%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that AECOM will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

AECOM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This is an increase from AECOM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. AECOM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AECOM news, CFO Gaurav Kapoor sold 42,400 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,228 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of AECOM from $115.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com raised AECOM from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 27th. Truist Financial raised their price target on AECOM from $108.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of AECOM from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of AECOM from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, AECOM presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.43.

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.