Verition Fund Management LLC Increases Stock Position in AECOM (NYSE:ACM)

Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in AECOM (NYSE:ACM - Free Report) by 293.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 180,602 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 134,730 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC owned approximately 0.13% of AECOM worth $18,651,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in AECOM by 28.1% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,742 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $696,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. raised its holdings in AECOM by 17.6% during the third quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 69,741 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $7,202,000 after acquiring an additional 10,415 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in AECOM by 18.4% during the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 37,688 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,891,000 after acquiring an additional 5,852 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in AECOM by 17.0% during the third 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 valued at $205,429,000 after acquiring an additional 289,513 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in AECOM by 1.8% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 73,948 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $7,637,000 after acquiring an additional 1,333 shares during the period. 85.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ACM. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on AECOM from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com upgraded AECOM from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, October 27th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on AECOM from $115.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on AECOM from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $119.38.

AECOM Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of ACM stock traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $116.97. 422,323 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 807,109. The stock's 50 day moving average is $107.91 and its 200-day moving average is $97.08. The company has a market cap of $15.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. AECOM has a fifty-two week low of $82.23 and a fifty-two week high of $118.56.

AECOM (NYSE:ACM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 18th. The construction company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. AECOM had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 25.46%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. Analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a positive change from AECOM's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. AECOM's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.73%.

AECOM announced that its board 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 buy up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at AECOM

In related news, CFO Gaurav Kapoor sold 42,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were 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 owns 31,228 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

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.