Natixis Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J)

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) by 138.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 479,452 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 278,777 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.39% of Jacobs Solutions worth $64,065,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of J. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 73,566 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 3.2% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,040,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,263,000 after purchasing an additional 32,650 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 896,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,724,000 after purchasing an additional 78,284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 777,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,941,000 after purchasing an additional 17,372 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

J has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark cut Jacobs Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $152.00 price objective on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $161.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $153.63.

Jacobs Solutions Trading Up 2.7 %

NYSE:J opened at $122.50 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $15.01 billion, a PE ratio of 25.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.67. Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a 12 month low of $110.95 and a 12 month high of $150.54.

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.33 EPS 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 company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.45 earnings per share. Jacobs Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Jacobs Solutions Inc. will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Jacobs Solutions announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from Jacobs Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Jacobs Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 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.