Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) Shares Bought by Amundi

Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) by 121.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 52,520 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 28,787 shares during the period. Amundi’s holdings in Jacobs Solutions were worth $6,990,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in J. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Jacobs Solutions by 44.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 394.9% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions in the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 42.7% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 334 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on J shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Jacobs Solutions from $154.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. 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. Benchmark downgraded shares of Jacobs Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $161.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 price target on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Jacobs Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $153.63.

Jacobs Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of Jacobs Solutions stock opened at $122.50 on Friday. The firm 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 quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a 52 week low of $110.95 and a 52 week high of $150.54. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.67.

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 14.87%. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.45 earnings per share. Jacobs Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Jacobs Solutions Inc. will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current 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 given a $0.32 dividend. This is a positive change from Jacobs Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. Jacobs Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 26.39%.

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