Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 7,091 Shares of John Bean Technologies Co. (NYSE:JBT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in John Bean Technologies Co. (NYSE:JBT) by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 151,243 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,091 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in John Bean Technologies were worth $14,899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in John Bean Technologies by 69.4% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 209,662 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $19,912,000 after purchasing an additional 85,910 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of John Bean Technologies by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 101,574 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,646,000 after acquiring an additional 5,333 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in John Bean Technologies by 1.7% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $845,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC bought a new position in John Bean Technologies in the second quarter valued at $417,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in John Bean Technologies during the second quarter valued at about $654,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.92% of the company’s stock.

John Bean Technologies Trading Down 2.5 %

NYSE JBT opened at $128.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a PE ratio of 23.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.24. John Bean Technologies Co. has a 1-year low of $82.64 and a 1-year high of $132.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $119.61 and a 200-day moving average of $102.85. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

John Bean Technologies (NYSE:JBT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. John Bean Technologies had a return on equity of 10.16% and a net margin of 10.25%. The firm had revenue of $453.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $442.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that John Bean Technologies Co. will post 5.21 EPS for the current year.

John Bean Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. John Bean Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on John Bean Technologies in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. CJS Securities began coverage on shares of John Bean Technologies in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company.

John Bean Technologies Company Profile

John Bean Technologies Corporation provides technology solutions to food and beverage industry in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. It offers value-added processing that includes chilling, mixing/grinding, injecting, blending, marinating, tumbling, flattening, forming, portioning, coating, cooking, frying, freezing, extracting, pasteurizing, sterilizing, concentrating, high pressure processing, weighing, inspecting, filling, closing, sealing, end of line material handling, and packaging solutions to the food, beverage, and health market.