Raymond James & Associates Has $12.65 Million Stock Holdings in Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J)

Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) by 21.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 97,436 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,938 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.08% of Jacobs Solutions worth $12,647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Richelieu Gestion SA lifted its holdings in Jacobs Solutions by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Richelieu Gestion SA now owns 18,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,352,000 after buying an additional 3,308 shares during the period. LVW Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 3,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its stake in Jacobs Solutions by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Jacobs Solutions by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 21,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,782,000 after purchasing an additional 567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. lifted its stake in Jacobs Solutions by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 6,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $902,000 after buying an additional 1,109 shares during the period. 85.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp began coverage on Jacobs Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Jacobs Solutions in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $154.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Jacobs Solutions from $151.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Kevin C. Berryman sold 1,500 shares of Jacobs Solutions stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.20, for a total transaction of $229,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 233,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,711,532.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Jacobs Solutions news, insider Steven J. Demetriou sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.20, for a total transaction of $1,072,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 555,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,047,141.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin C. Berryman sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.20, for a total value of $229,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 233,104 shares in the company, valued at $35,711,532.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,838 shares of company stock worth $2,393,710. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Jacobs Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:J opened at $149.85 on Thursday. Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a 1-year low of $109.00 and a 1-year high of $154.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market cap of $18.83 billion, a PE ratio of 26.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.65.

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.46. Jacobs Solutions had a net margin of 4.20% and a return on equity of 14.57%. The company had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Jacobs Solutions Inc. will post 8.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jacobs Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This is a positive change from Jacobs Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Jacobs Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.71%.

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.