HighTower Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J)

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,184 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,207 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Jacobs Solutions were worth $6,305,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in J. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 44.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 71.9% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Jacobs Solutions by 394.9% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 292 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in Jacobs Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in 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 during the period. 85.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Jacobs Solutions Trading Down 0.1 %

Jacobs Solutions stock opened at $122.65 on Wednesday. Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a one year low of $118.71 and a one year high of $156.31. The stock has a market cap of $15.03 billion, a PE ratio of 25.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $131.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.19.

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. Jacobs Solutions had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 14.87%. Jacobs Solutions’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.45 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Jacobs Solutions Inc. will post 6.05 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. This is an increase from Jacobs Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Jacobs Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.39%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on J. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $152.00 target price on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research 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 research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Jacobs Solutions from $154.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Benchmark downgraded shares of Jacobs Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $153.63.

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.