Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Trims Position in Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J)

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 168,433 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,628 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Solutions accounts for about 1.9% of Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. owned about 0.14% of Jacobs Solutions worth $22,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of J. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 44.3% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 394.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Jacobs Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jacobs Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 42.7% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 85.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

J has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $161.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 price target on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Benchmark lowered shares of Jacobs Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $154.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.89.

Jacobs Solutions Price Performance

J stock opened at $124.44 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.66, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.77. Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a twelve month low of $110.95 and a twelve month high of $150.54. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $133.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.96. 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 (NYSE:J) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.04. Jacobs Solutions had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 4.28%. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Jacobs Solutions Inc. will post 6.05 EPS for the current year.

Jacobs Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 4th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Jacobs Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Jacobs Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. Jacobs Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.39%.

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.