Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 15,438 Shares of ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM) by 4.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 327,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,438 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in ABM Industries were worth $17,286,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ABM. BOKF NA bought a new stake in shares of ABM Industries in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Adirondack Trust Co. raised its position in ABM Industries by 250.0% in the 2nd quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 700 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in ABM Industries in the third quarter worth $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in ABM Industries by 37.5% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of ABM Industries by 2,102.0% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,079 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 1,030 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.62% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Earl Ray Ellis sold 40,000 shares of ABM Industries stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.96, for a total transaction of $2,158,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,442,229.60. This trade represents a 46.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial increased their target price on ABM Industries from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of ABM Industries from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of ABM Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of ABM Industries from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th.

ABM Industries Stock Performance

Shares of ABM stock opened at $55.58 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $52.98 and a 200 day moving average of $51.58. ABM Industries Incorporated has a 52 week low of $39.64 and a 52 week high of $59.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

ABM Industries (NYSE:ABM) last posted its earnings results on Friday, September 6th. The business services provider reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.08. ABM Industries had a net margin of 1.89% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The firm had revenue of $2.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that ABM Industries Incorporated will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current year.

ABM Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd were given a $0.225 dividend. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 3rd. ABM Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.19%.

ABM Industries Profile

ABM Industries Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of integrated facility, infrastructure, and mobility solutions in the United States and internationally. It operates through Business & Industry, Manufacturing & Distribution, Education, Aviation, and Technical Solutions segments.