Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 30,726 Shares of Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. (NASDAQ:JKHY)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. (NASDAQ:JKHY - Free Report) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 372,186 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 30,726 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.51% of Jack Henry & Associates worth $65,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Jack Henry & Associates by 647.4% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 142 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Jack Henry & Associates in the third quarter valued at $26,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Jack Henry & Associates in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Jack Henry & Associates by 11,750.0% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 237 shares of the technology company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jack Henry & Associates during the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors own 98.75% of the company's stock.

Jack Henry & Associates Price Performance

Shares of Jack Henry & Associates stock traded up $1.93 on Friday, reaching $170.63. 242,991 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 578,580. The firm's 50 day moving average is $173.58 and its 200-day moving average is $174.74. Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. has a one year low of $157.00 and a one year high of $189.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $12.44 billion, a PE ratio of 30.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.61.

Jack Henry & Associates (NASDAQ:JKHY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.03). Jack Henry & Associates had a return on equity of 21.55% and a net margin of 17.83%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jack Henry & Associates Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from Jack Henry & Associates's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Jack Henry & Associates's payout ratio is currently 39.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on JKHY. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Jack Henry & Associates in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Jack Henry & Associates in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Jack Henry & Associates from $181.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Jack Henry & Associates from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Jack Henry & Associates from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Jack Henry & Associates presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $186.80.

Jack Henry & Associates Company Profile

Jack Henry & Associates, Inc is a financial technology company, which engages in the provision of technology solutions and payment processing services. It operates through the following segments: Core, Payments, Complementary, and Corporate and Other. The Core segment provides core information processing platforms to banks and credit unions which consist of integrated applications required to process deposit, loan, and general ledger transactions, and maintain centralized customer and member information.