Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Acquires 810 Shares of Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lifted its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,560 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 810 shares during the period. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Jacobs Solutions were worth $466,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in Jacobs Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 427.5% during the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Jacobs Solutions by 44.3% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Jacobs Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Jacobs Solutions during the 1st quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

J has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Raymond James raised Jacobs Solutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Jacobs Solutions in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup decreased their target price on Jacobs Solutions from $166.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Jacobs Solutions from $167.00 to $152.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.50.

Jacobs Solutions Price Performance

J traded down $0.45 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $138.85. The stock had a trading volume of 37,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 805,522. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.20. The business has a 50-day moving average of $142.01 and a 200-day moving average of $142.31. Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a one year low of $101.64 and a one year high of $150.54. The stock has a market cap of $17.25 billion, a PE ratio of 22.02, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.71.

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by ($0.71). The firm had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.50 billion. Jacobs Solutions had a net margin of 5.16% and a return on equity of 14.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Jacobs Solutions Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jacobs Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Jacobs Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.33%.

Insider Activity at Jacobs Solutions

In other news, Director Christopher M.T. Thompson sold 1,898 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.85, for a total transaction of $286,313.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,346,108.65. This represents a 4.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Shelette M. Gustafson sold 4,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.14, for a total value of $625,633.38. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,688,038.96. The trade was a 14.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Jacobs Solutions Profile

Jacobs Solutions Inc provides consulting, technical, engineering, scientific, and project delivery services for the government and private sectors in the United States, Europe, Canada, India, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, and Africa. It operates through Critical Mission Solutions, People & Places Solutions, Divergent Solutions, and PA Consulting segments.