Willis Investment Counsel Grows Stock Holdings in John Bean Technologies Co. (NYSE:JBT)

Willis Investment Counsel increased its position in shares of John Bean Technologies Co. (NYSE:JBT) by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,767 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 705 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in John Bean Technologies were worth $821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Money Concepts Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of John Bean Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of John Bean Technologies by 124.0% in the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 392 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of John Bean Technologies during the first quarter worth $956,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in John Bean Technologies in the first quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in John Bean Technologies by 26.1% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 642 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. 98.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

John Bean Technologies Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE JBT traded down $0.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $109.01. The company had a trading volume of 592,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 152,774. John Bean Technologies Co. has a 52-week low of $81.59 and a 52-week high of $125.88. The stock has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.18, a PEG ratio of 7.54 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $112.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.56.

John Bean Technologies (NYSE:JBT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $427.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $466.98 million. John Bean Technologies had a return on equity of 17.20% and a net margin of 6.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that John Bean Technologies Co. will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current year.

John Bean Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 21st were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 18th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. John Bean Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on JBT shares. 58.com reaffirmed a “reiterates” rating on shares of John Bean Technologies in a research report on Friday, June 30th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of John Bean Technologies in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. 888 reaffirmed a “reiterates” rating on shares of John Bean Technologies in a research report on Friday, June 30th. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $128.00 target price on shares of John Bean Technologies in a report on Friday, June 30th. Finally, TheStreet raised John Bean Technologies from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Monday, July 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, John Bean Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.00.

About John Bean Technologies

John Bean Technologies Corporation provides technology solutions to food and beverage industry and equipment and services to air transportation industries in North America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company operates through two segments: FoodTech and AeroTech. It offers value-added processing that includes chilling, mixing/grinding, injecting, blending, marinating, tumbling, flattening, foaming, portioning, coating, cooking, frying, freezing, weighing, and inspection.