Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Buys 4,122 Shares of Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 84,039 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,122 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Jacobs Solutions were worth $11,229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,168,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Jacobs Solutions by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Jacobs Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Inspire Advisors LLC grew its position in Jacobs Solutions by 54.0% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 7,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $989,000 after acquiring an additional 2,594 shares during the last quarter. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its position in Jacobs Solutions by 121.3% during the fourth quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 5,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $746,000 after acquiring an additional 3,060 shares during the last quarter. 85.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $161.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $154.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Benchmark cut shares of Jacobs Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Jacobs Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $153.63.

Jacobs Solutions Stock Performance

NYSE:J opened at $122.65 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $131.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.19. Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.71 and a fifty-two week high of $156.31. The firm has a market cap of $15.03 billion, a PE ratio of 25.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04. Jacobs Solutions had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 4.28%. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Jacobs Solutions Inc. will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Jacobs Solutions announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 4th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Jacobs Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This is a positive change from Jacobs Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. Jacobs Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.39%.

About Jacobs Solutions

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.