Prudential Financial Inc. Reduces Holdings in Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL)

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its stake in Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 61,520 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 8,413 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.06% of Jabil worth $8,853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Stevens Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Jabil by 43.1% in the fourth quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 5,669 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $816,000 after buying an additional 1,707 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Jabil by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 40,748 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,864,000 after acquiring an additional 7,747 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Jabil during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,756,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Jabil by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 246,198 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,428,000 after purchasing an additional 13,161 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Jabil by 45.4% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 10,695 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,539,000 after purchasing an additional 3,339 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.39% of the company’s stock.

Jabil Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of Jabil stock opened at $135.97 on Friday. Jabil Inc. has a 1 year low of $95.85 and a 1 year high of $174.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a 50-day moving average of $154.45 and a 200 day moving average of $139.59. The firm has a market cap of $14.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.19.

Jabil (NYSE:JBL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The technology company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $6.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.40 billion. Jabil had a net margin of 4.71% and a return on equity of 41.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.68 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Jabil Inc. will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jabil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Jabil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Frederic E. Mccoy sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.81, for a total value of $599,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 138,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,744,490.32. This represents a 2.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 3,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.27, for a total transaction of $551,718.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,093,283. This trade represents a 20.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 77,400 shares of company stock worth $12,804,458 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on JBL shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Jabil from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays raised their price target on Jabil from $179.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Jabil from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Jabil from $160.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Jabil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $167.50.

Jabil Company Profile

Jabil Inc provides manufacturing services and solutions worldwide. It operates in two segments, Electronics Manufacturing Services and Diversified Manufacturing Services. The company offers electronics design, production, and product management services; electronic circuit design services, such as application-specific integrated circuit design, firmware development, and rapid prototyping services; and designs plastic and metal enclosures that include the electro-mechanics, such as the printed circuit board assemblies (PCBA).