Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lessened its stake in Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 142,682 shares of the company’s stock after selling 874 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Jacobs Solutions worth $19,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in J. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its holdings in Jacobs Solutions by 10,250.0% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 71.9% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Jacobs Solutions by 42.7% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 334 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its position in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 113.8% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 357 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.65% of the company’s stock.

Jacobs Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE J opened at $128.78 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a twelve month low of $106.23 and a twelve month high of $156.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $121.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $130.19. The stock has a market cap of $15.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.77.

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.02. Jacobs Solutions had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 14.87%. The firm had revenue of $2.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. Jacobs Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Jacobs Solutions Inc. will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Jacobs Solutions announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 4th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Jacobs Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Jacobs Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on J. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Jacobs Solutions from $152.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Jacobs Solutions from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $154.00 to $152.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $161.00 to $151.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, February 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.86.

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.