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

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

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Foundry Partners LLC raised its stake in ABM Industries by 694.2% during the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 86,868 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,583,000 after buying an additional 75,930 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new position in ABM Industries during the fourth quarter worth $392,000. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in ABM Industries by 51.3% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 101,006 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,329,000 after buying 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 purchasing an additional 39,300 shares in 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 purchasing an additional 14,977 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.62% of the company’s stock.

ABM Industries Trading Up 2.2 %

ABM opened at $47.80 on Tuesday. ABM Industries Incorporated has a 1-year low of $42.28 and a 1-year high of $59.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $52.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.24.

ABM Industries (NYSE:ABM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The business services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. ABM Industries had a net margin of 0.97% and a return on equity of 12.48%. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. Analysts predict that ABM Industries Incorporated will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ABM Industries Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Transactions at ABM Industries

In other news, COO Rene Jacobsen sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.84, for a total transaction of $528,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 87,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,639,774.72. The trade was a 10.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Dean A. Chin sold 4,281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.36, for a total transaction of $224,153.16. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 18,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $978,137.16. The trade was a 18.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.