AECOM (NYSE:ACM) Shares Sold by NFJ Investment Group LLC

NFJ Investment Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of AECOM (NYSE:ACM) by 9.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,687 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 295 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings in AECOM were worth $277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Ninety One UK Ltd acquired a new stake in AECOM in the 2nd quarter worth about $46,109,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in AECOM in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,201,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in AECOM by 67.8% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 808,192 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $71,897,000 after buying an additional 326,423 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in AECOM by 17.0% in the 3rd 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 worth $205,429,000 after buying an additional 289,513 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in AECOM by 18.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,628,924 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $143,573,000 after buying an additional 258,250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.41% of the company’s stock.

AECOM Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACM opened at $114.93 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $15.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.83, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. AECOM has a one year low of $82.23 and a one year high of $118.56. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $108.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.61.

AECOM (NYSE:ACM) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. AECOM had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 2.50%. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AECOM will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AECOM announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, November 18th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to repurchase 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 shares are undervalued.

AECOM Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. 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 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. AECOM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.73%.

Insider Activity at AECOM

In other AECOM news, CFO Gaurav Kapoor sold 42,400 shares of AECOM stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.34, for a total transaction of $4,890,416.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,228 shares in the company, valued at $3,601,837.52. The trade was a 57.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ACM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on AECOM in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on AECOM from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on AECOM from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com raised AECOM from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 27th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on AECOM from $115.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $119.38.

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.