Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 142,693 Shares of AECOM (NYSE:ACM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of AECOM (NYSE:ACM - Free Report) by 31.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 310,589 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 142,693 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of AECOM worth $32,075,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AECOM by 5.3% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,338 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in AECOM by 18.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 258,250 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in AECOM by 2,660.9% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,270 shares of the construction company's stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AECOM in the second quarter valued at approximately $296,000. Finally, IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd increased its stake in shares of AECOM by 8.4% in the second quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 25,607 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,995 shares during the period. 85.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Gaurav Kapoor sold 42,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ACM shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on AECOM from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on AECOM from $119.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AECOM from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, October 27th. KeyCorp upped their target price on AECOM from $115.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of AECOM in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $119.38.

AECOM Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of ACM traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $108.41. 136,439 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 805,911. The company has a market cap of $14.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. AECOM has a 12-month low of $82.23 and a 12-month high of $118.56. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.82.

AECOM (NYSE:ACM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 18th. The construction company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.03. AECOM had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 25.46%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that AECOM will post 5.1 EPS for the current year.

AECOM declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, November 18th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

AECOM Increases Dividend

The business 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. This is a positive change from AECOM's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. AECOM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.14%.

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.