BlackRock Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK)

BlackRock Inc. reduced its stake in Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK – Get Rating) by 0.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,274,175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 4,627 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. owned 0.16% of Jack in the Box worth $242,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Jack in the Box during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jack in the Box during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jack in the Box in the third quarter valued at about $69,000. Repertoire Partners LP purchased a new stake in Jack in the Box in the second quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Jack in the Box by 344.1% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares during the period. 99.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chad Gretzema sold 712 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.97, for a total transaction of $61,210.64. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,454 shares in the company, valued at $984,700.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Jack in the Box news, insider Chad Gretzema sold 712 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.97, for a total value of $61,210.64. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $984,700.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Ryan Lee Ostrom sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.89, for a total value of $26,044.14. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 10,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $841,721.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,907 shares of company stock valued at $440,935 in the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Jack in the Box Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ JACK opened at $78.02 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.80. The stock has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.67, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.62. Jack in the Box Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.80 and a 12 month high of $94.68.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 1st. The restaurant operator reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $527.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $506.98 million. Jack in the Box had a negative return on equity of 16.57% and a net margin of 7.86%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 52.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.97 EPS. Analysts forecast that Jack in the Box Inc. will post 5.75 EPS for the current year.

Jack in the Box Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Jack in the Box’s payout ratio is 28.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Jack in the Box from $88.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 23rd. UBS Group increased their target price on Jack in the Box from $75.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Jack in the Box from $85.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. Wedbush lifted their target price on Jack in the Box from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Jack in the Box from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $87.56.

Jack in the Box Profile

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Jack in the Box, Inc engages in operating and franchising a chain of quick-service and fast-casual restaurants. It operates through the Jack in the Box Restaurant segments. The Jack in the Box Restaurant segment offers a broad selection of distinctive products including burgers like Jumbo Jack burgers, and product lines such as Buttery Jack burgers including the Brunchfast menu.