Swiss National Bank Decreases Stake in Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J)

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 351,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,800 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Jacobs Solutions were worth $46,901,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in J. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 2.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,145,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,444,000 after acquiring an additional 73,566 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,988,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,649,000 after acquiring an additional 449,161 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 3.2% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,040,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,263,000 after acquiring an additional 32,650 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 896,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,724,000 after acquiring an additional 78,284 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 777,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,941,000 after acquiring an additional 17,372 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.65% of the company’s stock.

Jacobs Solutions Stock Performance

NYSE:J opened at $122.50 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $131.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $15.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.77. Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a twelve month low of $110.95 and a twelve month high of $150.54.

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) last issued its 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 net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 14.87%. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.45 earnings per share. Jacobs Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Jacobs Solutions Inc. will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jacobs Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 4th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Jacobs Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from Jacobs Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. Jacobs Solutions’s payout ratio is 26.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Benchmark lowered shares of Jacobs Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup dropped 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 dropped 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. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Jacobs Solutions has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $153.63.

Jacobs Solutions Company 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.