William Blair Investment Management LLC Acquires 19,783 Shares of ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM)

William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 818,810 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,783 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 1.32% of ABM Industries worth $41,907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foundry Partners LLC increased its stake in ABM Industries by 694.2% in the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 86,868 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,583,000 after acquiring an additional 75,930 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new position in ABM Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $392,000. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in ABM Industries by 51.3% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 101,006 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,329,000 after acquiring an additional 34,254 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in ABM Industries by 91.8% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 82,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,331,000 after acquiring an additional 39,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in ABM Industries by 138.3% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 25,810 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,362,000 after acquiring an additional 14,977 shares during the last quarter. 91.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at ABM Industries

In other news, COO Rene Jacobsen sold 10,000 shares of ABM Industries stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.84, for a total transaction of $528,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 87,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,639,774.72. The trade was a 10.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Dean A. Chin sold 4,281 shares of ABM Industries stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.36, for a total transaction of $224,153.16. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 18,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $978,137.16. This trade represents a 18.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of ABM Industries from $56.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th.

ABM Industries Stock Performance

Shares of ABM Industries stock opened at $47.80 on Tuesday. ABM Industries Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $42.28 and a fifty-two week high of $59.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $52.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.24.

ABM Industries (NYSE:ABM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The business services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.03. ABM Industries had a net margin of 0.97% and a return on equity of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.01 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that ABM Industries Incorporated will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ABM Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. ABM Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.13%.

ABM Industries 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.