Fmr LLC Decreases Stake in AECOM (NYSE:ACM)

Fmr LLC decreased its position in AECOM (NYSE:ACM) by 11.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,322,333 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 173,195 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in AECOM were worth $136,557,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ninety One UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of AECOM in the second quarter worth about $46,109,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in AECOM during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,201,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in AECOM by 67.8% during the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 808,192 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $71,897,000 after acquiring an additional 326,423 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $143,573,000 after acquiring an additional 258,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its holdings in shares of AECOM by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,752,487 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $154,464,000 after acquiring an additional 235,350 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ACM shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of AECOM from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on AECOM from $115.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on AECOM in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised AECOM from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 27th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of AECOM from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.38.

AECOM Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ACM opened at $114.66 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $108.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.49. AECOM has a 1 year low of $82.23 and a 1 year high of $118.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

AECOM (NYSE:ACM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 18th. The construction company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.03. AECOM had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 25.46%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AECOM will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AECOM Increases Dividend

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

AECOM announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, November 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

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

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.