Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stake in Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) by 28.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 187,235 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 41,661 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Jacobs Solutions worth $25,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its position in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,988,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,649,000 after acquiring an additional 449,161 shares in the last quarter. Sessa Capital IM L.P. bought a new position in shares of Jacobs Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,168,000. Soros Fund Management LLC raised its position in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC now owns 500,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,569,000 after acquiring an additional 127,874 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 28.1% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 537,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,296,000 after acquiring an additional 117,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 650,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,099,000 after acquiring an additional 107,849 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.65% of the company’s stock.

Jacobs Solutions Price Performance

NYSE J opened at $129.12 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.82 billion, a PE ratio of 26.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The business’s fifty day moving average is $134.83 and its 200 day moving average is $139.95. Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $110.95 and a fifty-two week high of $150.54.

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. Jacobs Solutions had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 4.28%. Jacobs Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Jacobs Solutions Inc. will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Jacobs Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from Jacobs Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. Jacobs Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.92%.

Jacobs Solutions announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 4th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Jacobs Solutions from $154.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Benchmark downgraded Jacobs Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com started coverage on Jacobs Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 price target on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Jacobs Solutions from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Jacobs Solutions presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.89.

Jacobs Solutions Company 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.