Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) Stake Boosted by Ninety One SA PTY Ltd

Ninety One SA PTY Ltd lifted its position in Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J - Free Report) by 79.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,804 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,839 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Solutions makes up 1.1% of Ninety One SA PTY Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd's holdings in Jacobs Solutions were worth $4,784,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 44.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 241 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in Jacobs Solutions by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,358 shares of the company's stock valued at $570,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Jacobs Solutions by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,239 shares of the company's stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in Jacobs Solutions by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 958 shares of the company's stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in Jacobs Solutions by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,773 shares of the company's stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 85.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on J. Benchmark downgraded Jacobs Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup cut their target price on Jacobs Solutions from $161.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com began coverage on Jacobs Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $152.00 target price on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $155.89.

Jacobs Solutions Trading Up 0.4 %

J stock traded up $0.49 during trading on Friday, reaching $133.97. 767,521 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 785,657. The business's 50 day moving average price is $136.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $140.97. Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a 52-week low of $110.95 and a 52-week high of $150.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.42 billion, a PE ratio of 27.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.72.

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04. Jacobs Solutions had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 4.28%. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.45 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Jacobs Solutions Inc. will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Jacobs Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This is a positive change from Jacobs Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Jacobs Solutions's payout ratio is currently 23.92%.

Jacobs Solutions announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 4th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.