Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Grows Position in Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) by 41.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 49,887 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,497 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Jacobs Solutions were worth $6,666,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Jacobs Solutions by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,145,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,444,000 after purchasing an additional 73,566 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,988,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,649,000 after buying an additional 449,161 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,040,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,263,000 after buying an additional 32,650 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Jacobs Solutions by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 896,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,724,000 after acquiring an additional 78,284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 17,372 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $152.00 target price on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Benchmark lowered shares of Jacobs Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $161.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Jacobs Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Jacobs Solutions from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Jacobs Solutions has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.89.

Jacobs Solutions Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Jacobs Solutions stock opened at $122.34 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $132.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.19. Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $110.95 and a fifty-two week high of $150.54. The firm has a market cap of $14.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.77.

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.04. Jacobs Solutions had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 4.28%. 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 business’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Jacobs Solutions Inc. will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jacobs Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Jacobs Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. Jacobs Solutions’s payout ratio is 26.39%.

Jacobs Solutions announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 4th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign 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.