Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Sells 500 Shares of Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lowered its position in Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,060 shares of the company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Jacobs Solutions were worth $408,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Jacobs Solutions by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,168,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Jacobs Solutions by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jacobs Solutions during the fourth quarter worth approximately $211,000. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 54.0% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 7,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $989,000 after acquiring an additional 2,594 shares during the period. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its position in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 121.3% during the fourth quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 5,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $746,000 after acquiring an additional 3,060 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on J. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $154.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Benchmark lowered shares of Jacobs Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Jacobs Solutions presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.89.

Jacobs Solutions Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:J opened at $121.74 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.10, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $132.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.08. Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a 12 month low of $110.95 and a 12 month high of $150.54. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. Jacobs Solutions had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 14.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.45 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Jacobs Solutions Inc. will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Jacobs Solutions Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. This is an increase from Jacobs Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Jacobs Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 26.39%.

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

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.