Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 665,721 Shares of ABM Industries Incorporated $ABM

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. sold 665,721 shares of ABM Industries, reducing its holdings by 26.0% to 1,891,214 shares, which are valued at approximately $89.57 million.
• ABM Industries reported a quarterly earnings miss with $0.86 EPS, slightly below analysts' expectations of $0.87, although its revenue increased by 4.6% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.265 per share, reflecting a 2.2% dividend yield, and is undertaking a $150 million share repurchase program.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lowered its position in ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM - Free Report) by 26.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,891,214 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 665,721 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 3.04% of ABM Industries worth $89,568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ABM. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of ABM Industries by 17.8% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,786,926 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $84,629,000 after purchasing an additional 269,410 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in ABM Industries by 34.4% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,590,497 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $75,326,000 after buying an additional 406,802 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in ABM Industries by 66.4% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,386,172 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $65,649,000 after buying an additional 553,225 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of ABM Industries by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 836,801 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $42,827,000 after buying an additional 42,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of ABM Industries by 52.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 677,811 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,690,000 after acquiring an additional 232,190 shares during the period. 91.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Baird R W cut ABM Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $54.00 price objective (down from $56.00) on shares of ABM Industries in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of ABM Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of ABM Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $55.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of ABM Industries from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.67.

ABM Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABM traded up $0.73 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $46.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 686,706 shares, compared to its average volume of 626,111. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.49. The company has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.40 and a beta of 0.80. The business's 50 day moving average price is $47.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.35. ABM Industries Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $40.85 and a fifty-two week high of $59.15.

ABM Industries (NYSE:ABM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, September 5th. The business services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. ABM Industries had a return on equity of 12.12% and a net margin of 1.34%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. ABM Industries has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.650-3.650 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that ABM Industries Incorporated will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ABM Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. ABM Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.61%.

ABM Industries declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at ABM Industries

In other ABM Industries news, Director Thomas M. Gartland sold 3,711 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.52, for a total transaction of $168,924.72. Following the sale, the director directly owned 30,958 shares in the company, valued at $1,409,208.16. This represents a 10.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Rene Jacobsen sold 17,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $828,517.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 71,256 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,422,425.68. The trade was a 19.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

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.