ING Groep NV Trims Stock Position in Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J)

ING Groep NV cut its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,869 shares of the company’s stock after selling 877 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Jacobs Solutions were worth $2,120,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in J. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,145,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,444,000 after purchasing an additional 73,566 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 449,161 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,040,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,263,000 after purchasing an additional 32,650 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 760,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,552,000 after purchasing an additional 14,405 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 107,849 shares during the period. 85.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

J has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Jacobs Solutions from $161.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 target price on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial increased their target price on Jacobs Solutions from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Benchmark lowered Jacobs Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Six 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.89.

Jacobs Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE J opened at $129.12 on Friday. Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $110.95 and a fifty-two week high of $150.54. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $134.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap 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.

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.45 EPS. Jacobs Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Jacobs Solutions Inc. will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jacobs Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from Jacobs Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Jacobs Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.92%.

Jacobs Solutions announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Jacobs Solutions

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.