Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 13,985 Shares of ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 341,616 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,985 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.55% of ABM Industries worth $17,484,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ABM. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in ABM Industries by 67.0% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 694,464 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,640,000 after acquiring an additional 278,575 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of ABM Industries by 238.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 113,850 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,004,000 after purchasing an additional 80,238 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of ABM Industries by 279.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 108,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,702,000 after purchasing an additional 79,587 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 75,930 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $4,331,000 after purchasing an additional 39,300 shares in the last quarter. 91.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ABM Industries Stock Performance

Shares of ABM Industries stock opened at $54.09 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.59. ABM Industries Incorporated has a one year low of $40.33 and a one year 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 $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.59, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.16.

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

ABM Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. This is a positive change from ABM Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. ABM Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.47%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Rene Jacobsen sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.84, for a total value 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 approximately $4,639,774.72. This represents a 10.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 directly owns 18,681 shares in the company, valued at $978,137.16. This represents a 18.64 % 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of ABM Industries from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th.

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.