Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Reduces Position in Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lessened its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,060 shares of the company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Jacobs Solutions were worth $408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Heritage Family Offices LLP boosted its holdings in Jacobs Solutions by 55.7% in the 4th quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 14,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,993,000 after purchasing an additional 5,332 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its holdings in Jacobs Solutions by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 9,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,305,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Jacobs Solutions by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 25,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,347,000 after purchasing an additional 2,619 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Jacobs Solutions by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 433,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,778,000 after purchasing an additional 47,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Jacobs Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.65% of the company’s stock.

Jacobs Solutions Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:J opened at $121.74 on Thursday. Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a 52 week low of $110.95 and a 52 week high of $150.54. The company’s 50 day moving average is $132.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.08. 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 market cap of $14.92 billion, a PE ratio of 25.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.77.

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. Jacobs Solutions had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 14.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.45 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Jacobs Solutions Inc. will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Jacobs Solutions Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. 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 (DPR) is 26.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on J. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $154.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup decreased their price objective 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. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $152.00 target price on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Jacobs Solutions presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.