Whittier Trust Co. Trims Stock Holdings in Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J)

Whittier Trust Co. cut its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) by 19.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,518 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,067 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Jacobs Solutions were worth $604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its position in Jacobs Solutions by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,988,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,649,000 after acquiring an additional 449,161 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 15,913.6% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 448,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,977,000 after purchasing an additional 446,057 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Jacobs Solutions by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 479,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,065,000 after buying an additional 278,777 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Jacobs Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $24,069,000. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC raised its position in Jacobs Solutions by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC now owns 500,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,569,000 after buying an additional 127,874 shares during the last quarter. 85.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jacobs Solutions Price Performance

Jacobs Solutions stock opened at $121.23 on Friday. Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.71 and a 52 week high of $156.31. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $130.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.86 billion, a PE ratio of 24.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.77.

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Jacobs Solutions Inc. will post 6.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jacobs Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. This is a positive change from Jacobs Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Jacobs Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.39%.

Jacobs Solutions declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on J shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com started coverage on Jacobs Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Jacobs Solutions from $161.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $154.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $153.63.

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.