BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Sells 60,876 Shares of AECOM (NYSE:ACM)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. trimmed its holdings in shares of AECOM (NYSE:ACM - Free Report) by 47.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 68,031 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 60,876 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned 0.05% of AECOM worth $7,026,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ACM. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in AECOM during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AECOM in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of AECOM by 196.2% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 388 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of AECOM by 4,375.0% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 537 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the period. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AECOM in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. 85.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at AECOM

In other news, CFO Gaurav Kapoor sold 42,400 shares of the company'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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,601,837.52. This represents 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 at this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ACM. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on AECOM from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com raised AECOM from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, October 27th. Barclays raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on AECOM from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $119.38.

AECOM Trading Up 0.5 %

ACM stock traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $116.89. 1,393,674 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 807,173. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $106.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $15.48 billion, a PE ratio of 39.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.17. AECOM has a one year low of $82.23 and a one year high of $118.12.

AECOM (NYSE:ACM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 18th. The construction company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 2.50%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that AECOM will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AECOM announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, November 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to buy up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

AECOM Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost 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 currently 29.73%.

AECOM Company 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.