Vest Financial LLC Acquires 7,973 Shares of Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J)

Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) by 78.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,088 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,973 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Jacobs Solutions were worth $2,417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of J. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 1.9% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $570,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 958 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew its holdings in Jacobs Solutions by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.65% of the company’s stock.

Jacobs Solutions Stock Up 0.4 %

Jacobs Solutions stock opened at $133.97 on Friday. Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a 52 week low of $110.95 and a 52 week high of $150.54. The firm has a market cap of $16.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $136.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $140.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current 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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.04. Jacobs Solutions had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 14.87%. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.45 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Jacobs Solutions Inc. will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Jacobs Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Jacobs Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. 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 23.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

J has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial upped 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $152.00 target price on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $161.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.89.

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.