Wright Investors Service Inc. Takes Position in Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL)

Wright Investors Service Inc. bought a new stake in Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 12,861 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,851,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JBL. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Jabil in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Jabil in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Matrix Trust Co increased its stake in Jabil by 135.4% during the third quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 372 shares of the technology company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Jabil by 114.0% during the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 428 shares of the technology company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Jabil by 945.7% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 481 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the period. 93.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jabil Stock Up 1.6 %

Jabil stock traded up $2.39 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $155.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,266,832 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,330,479. The company has a market cap of $17.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $138.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.92. Jabil Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $95.85 and a fifty-two week high of $156.94.

Jabil (NYSE:JBL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The technology company reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.61 billion. Jabil had a return on equity of 42.64% and a net margin of 4.81%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Jabil Inc. will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jabil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.21%. Jabil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jabil

In related news, EVP Matthew Crowley sold 1,380 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.83, for a total transaction of $173,645.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 18,568 shares in the company, valued at $2,336,411.44. This represents a 6.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Francis Mckay sold 11,755 shares of Jabil stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.71, for a total transaction of $1,430,701.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 41,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,051,816.97. This represents a 22.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,689 shares of company stock worth $5,501,871 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on JBL shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Jabil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group upped their price objective on Jabil from $128.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on Jabil from $157.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "buy" rating and set a $160.00 price target (up previously from $150.00) on shares of Jabil in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Jabil from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $153.17.

About Jabil

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).