Wedbush Securities Inc. Lowers Stake in Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Apr 19th, 2023

Wedbush Securities Inc. reduced its position in Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J – Get Rating) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,779 shares of the company’s stock after selling 439 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Jacobs Solutions were worth $214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 243,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,283,000 after acquiring an additional 7,080 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Jacobs Solutions by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Jacobs Solutions by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP raised its position in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 4,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $491,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH purchased a new position in shares of Jacobs Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $201,000. 85.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Steven J. Demetriou sold 6,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.77, for a total transaction of $778,388.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 614,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,769,410.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Jacobs Solutions news, insider Steven J. Demetriou sold 6,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.77, for a total transaction of $778,388.82. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 614,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,769,410.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Christopher M.T. Thompson sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.64, for a total value of $418,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,149,354.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,832 shares of company stock valued at $2,009,981 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America lowered Jacobs Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $137.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, January 13th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Credit Suisse Group decreased their price target on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $161.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $150.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Jacobs Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $136.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Friday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.80.

Jacobs Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:J opened at $115.54 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $117.72 and a 200 day moving average of $119.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $14.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.84. Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a 52 week low of $106.78 and a 52 week high of $150.32.

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 7th. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.66 billion. Jacobs Solutions had a return on equity of 14.84% and a net margin of 4.21%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.56 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Jacobs Solutions Inc. will post 7.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jacobs Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 25th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Jacobs Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 24th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. This is a positive change from Jacobs Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 23rd. Jacobs Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.76%.

About Jacobs Solutions

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Jacobs Solutions, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the designing and deployment of technology-centric solutions. It operates through the following business segments: Critical Mission Solutions, People and Places Solutions, and PA Consulting. The Critical Mission Solutions segment offer broad sectors, including U.S.