Bank of Montreal Can Has $4.38 Million Stake in AECOM (NYSE:ACM)

Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in AECOM (NYSE:ACM) by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,395 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,311 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in AECOM were worth $4,376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new stake in AECOM during the third quarter worth $30,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AECOM in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of AECOM by 196.2% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 388 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of AECOM during the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in AECOM during the third quarter worth about $59,000. Institutional investors own 85.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on ACM shares. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of AECOM from $115.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on AECOM from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com upgraded AECOM from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on AECOM in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of AECOM from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, AECOM presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $119.38.

AECOM Price Performance

NYSE ACM opened at $114.66 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $15.19 billion, a PE ratio of 38.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.17. AECOM has a 52 week low of $82.23 and a 52 week high of $118.56. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $108.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.49.

AECOM (NYSE:ACM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 18th. The construction company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.03. AECOM had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 25.46%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. AECOM’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that AECOM will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current year.

AECOM Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. This is a positive change from AECOM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. AECOM’s payout ratio is presently 29.73%.

AECOM declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, November 18th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Gaurav Kapoor sold 42,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.