Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stake in ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 347,496 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,880 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.56% of ABM Industries worth $16,457,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of ABM Industries by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,198,258 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $419,587,000 after purchasing an additional 55,584 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in ABM Industries by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,517,516 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $77,666,000 after purchasing an additional 195,978 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of ABM Industries by 2,322.1% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,183,695 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $60,582,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134,825 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of ABM Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,967,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of ABM Industries by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 836,801 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $42,827,000 after purchasing an additional 42,997 shares in the last quarter. 91.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ABM Industries Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of ABM Industries stock opened at $48.75 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $48.95 and a 200 day moving average of $49.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.55. ABM Industries Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $40.85 and a fifty-two week high of $59.78. The company has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.78.

ABM Industries (NYSE:ABM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, June 6th. The business services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.01). ABM Industries had a net margin of 0.93% and a return on equity of 12.54%. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ABM Industries Incorporated will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ABM Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. ABM Industries's payout ratio is currently 85.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Sean Michael Mahoney sold 1,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.03, for a total value of $90,054.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,372,672.75. This represents a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas M. Gartland sold 3,711 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.52, for a total value of $168,924.72. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 30,958 shares in the company, valued at $1,409,208.16. The trade was a 10.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 73,335 shares of company stock worth $3,730,745. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ABM shares. Baird R W raised shares of ABM Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of ABM Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $56.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group raised ABM Industries from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $54.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Truist Financial raised ABM Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of ABM Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ABM Industries currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $56.00.

About ABM Industries

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.

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