Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 15,438 Shares of ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM - Free Report) by 4.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 327,631 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,438 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.52% of ABM Industries worth $17,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in ABM Industries during the second quarter worth approximately $125,118,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of ABM Industries by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,451,252 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $76,582,000 after buying an additional 7,050 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of ABM Industries by 92.3% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 760,321 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $38,449,000 after buying an additional 364,879 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in ABM Industries by 67.0% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 694,464 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $36,640,000 after buying an additional 278,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in ABM Industries by 1.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 681,006 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,930,000 after buying an additional 12,179 shares in the last quarter. 91.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on ABM. Truist Financial upped their price target on ABM Industries from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on ABM Industries from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on ABM Industries from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th.

Insider Activity at ABM Industries

In other news, CFO Earl Ray Ellis sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.96, for a total value of $2,158,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,260 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,442,229.60. This represents a 46.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

ABM Industries Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of ABM stock traded down $0.32 on Friday, hitting $51.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 386,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 531,682. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.09 and a beta of 1.14. ABM Industries Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $39.64 and a fifty-two week high of $59.78. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $55.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

ABM Industries (NYSE:ABM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The business services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.03. ABM Industries had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 1.89%. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.01 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that ABM Industries Incorporated will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

ABM Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This is a boost from ABM Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. ABM Industries's payout ratio is currently 83.46%.

ABM Industries Company Profile

ABM Industries Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of integrated facility, infrastructure, and mobility solutions in the United States and internationally. It operates through Business & Industry, Manufacturing & Distribution, Education, Aviation, and Technical Solutions segments.