Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases Shares of 180,130 Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 180,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,069,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,155,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,626,000 after acquiring an additional 10,174 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its position in Jacobs Solutions by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,988,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,649,000 after purchasing an additional 449,161 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Jacobs Solutions by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,809,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,746,000 after purchasing an additional 157,086 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Jacobs Solutions by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 896,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,724,000 after purchasing an additional 78,284 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 777,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,941,000 after buying an additional 17,372 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.65% of the company’s stock.

Jacobs Solutions Stock Up 0.5 %

Jacobs Solutions stock opened at $117.18 on Friday. Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a 12 month low of $106.23 and a 12 month high of $156.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.36 billion, a PE ratio of 24.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $132.70.

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.04. Jacobs Solutions had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 14.87%. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Jacobs Solutions Inc. will post 6.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Jacobs Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Jacobs Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. Jacobs Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on J shares. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Jacobs Solutions from $141.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Jacobs Solutions from $161.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Jacobs Solutions presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $152.14.

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.