ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Position in Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its holdings in Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 330,025 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,372 shares during the period. Jacobs Solutions makes up approximately 2.2% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Jacobs Solutions were worth $42,837,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of J. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Jacobs Solutions by 1.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,998,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,929,175,000 after buying an additional 250,587 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its position in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 4,717,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $554,345,000 after acquiring an additional 529,557 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 8.1% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,049,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $558,055,000 after purchasing an additional 304,996 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Jacobs Solutions by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,446,374 shares of the company’s stock worth $447,339,000 after purchasing an additional 14,821 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in Jacobs Solutions by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,271,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,812,000 after purchasing an additional 300,725 shares during the period. 85.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevin C. Berryman sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 233,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,711,532.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Jacobs Solutions news, EVP Shelette M. Gustafson sold 1,852 shares of Jacobs Solutions stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $274,096.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,261,068. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kevin C. Berryman sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.20, for a total value of $229,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 233,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,711,532.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,838 shares of company stock valued at $2,393,710 in the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Jacobs Solutions Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE J traded up $0.33 during trading on Friday, hitting $143.83. The stock had a trading volume of 382,613 shares, compared to its average volume of 659,007. The company has a market capitalization of $18.07 billion, a PE ratio of 25.68, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.73. Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.00 and a twelve month high of $154.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $147.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.61.

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.46. Jacobs Solutions had a net margin of 4.20% and a return on equity of 14.57%. The firm had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Jacobs Solutions Inc. will post 8.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Jacobs Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This is a positive change from Jacobs Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. Jacobs Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on J. Argus increased their price target on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Truist Financial started coverage on Jacobs Solutions in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $154.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Jacobs Solutions from $151.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Bank of America increased their price target on Jacobs Solutions from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.08.

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.