Sterling Capital Management LLC Acquires 2,100 Shares of Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL)

Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL - Free Report) by 25.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,256 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Jabil were worth $1,476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JBL. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Jabil in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Jabil during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Jabil during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Jabil by 90.3% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 274 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Jabil in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. 93.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Mark T. Mondello sold 20,000 shares of Jabil stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.56, for a total value of $2,631,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,730,192 shares in the company, valued at $227,624,059.52. This trade represents a 1.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 3,400 shares of the company'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 owns 12,900 shares in the company, valued at $2,093,283. The trade was a 20.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 73,400 shares of company stock valued at $11,810,418 over the last ninety days. 1.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Jabil Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE JBL traded up $1.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $134.97. The stock had a trading volume of 1,016,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,481,218. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $142.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $141.69. Jabil Inc. has a 12 month low of $95.85 and a 12 month high of $174.80. The company has a market capitalization of $14.49 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.12.

Jabil (NYSE:JBL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The technology company reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.11. Jabil had a net margin of 4.71% and a return on equity of 41.87%. The business had revenue of $6.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.68 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Jabil Inc. will post 8.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jabil Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Jabil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Jabil from $175.00 to $154.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. UBS Group increased their target price on Jabil from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Jabil from $179.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Jabil from $175.00 to $146.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Jabil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $158.50.

Jabil 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).