Payden & Rygel Reduces Holdings in AECOM (NYSE:ACM)

Payden & Rygel cut its holdings in shares of AECOM (NYSE:ACM) by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 117,170 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 81,100 shares during the quarter. Payden & Rygel owned approximately 0.09% of AECOM worth $12,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ACM. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of AECOM by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 40,390 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AECOM during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $211,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in AECOM by 1.1% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,459 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $977,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in AECOM during the third quarter worth $495,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC boosted its holdings in AECOM by 26.2% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,234 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the period. 85.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on ACM shares. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of AECOM from $108.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays increased their price target on AECOM from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on AECOM from $115.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on AECOM from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of AECOM from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $116.43.

AECOM Price Performance

Shares of ACM opened at $109.48 on Thursday. AECOM has a one year low of $82.23 and a one year high of $115.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $105.19 and its 200-day moving average is $95.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13.

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

AECOM Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. This is a boost from AECOM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. AECOM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.73%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AECOM news, CFO Gaurav Kapoor sold 42,400 shares of AECOM 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 owns 31,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.