Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (NYSE:JLL) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Jones Lang LaSalle, with four buy ratings, one strong-buy rating and two holds. The average 12-month price target is $433.60, above the reported share price of $346.44.
• JLL’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $5.26 versus the $4.56 consensus and revenue of $6.93 billion. Revenue increased 10.8% year over year, while analysts project full-year EPS of $25.05.
• Insiders have sold 6,402 shares worth about $2.39 million over the past 90 days, although the transactions were conducted under pre-arranged trading plans. Institutional investors remain dominant owners, holding approximately 94.8% of the company’s stock.

Shares of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (NYSE:JLL - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $433.60.

JLL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Jones Lang LaSalle from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Jones Lang LaSalle in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Jones Lang LaSalle from $375.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research lowered Jones Lang LaSalle from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Jones Lang LaSalle from $368.00 to $401.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th.

Jones Lang LaSalle Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE JLL opened at $346.44 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $15.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.60 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business's 50 day moving average is $352.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $323.67. Jones Lang LaSalle has a 52-week low of $259.83 and a 52-week high of $393.84.

Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE:JLL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.56 by $0.70. Jones Lang LaSalle had a net margin of 3.64% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The company had revenue of $6.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Jones Lang LaSalle will post 25.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Larry Quinlan sold 402 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.73, for a total value of $121,295.46. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,318,258.37. This represents a 8.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Christian Ulbrich sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $385.53, for a total transaction of $771,060.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 138,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,364,291.54. This represents a 1.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,402 shares of company stock worth $2,392,355. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Jones Lang LaSalle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JLL. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jones Lang LaSalle by 47.9% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 78,419 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $24,306,000 after purchasing an additional 25,413 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jones Lang LaSalle in the second quarter valued at approximately $575,000. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of Jones Lang LaSalle during the 2nd quarter worth $521,000. Groupe la Francaise grew its position in Jones Lang LaSalle by 6.2% during the second quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 1,766 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $547,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of Jones Lang LaSalle in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,150,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jones Lang LaSalle Company Profile

Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated NYSE: JLL is a leading professional services firm specializing in real estate and investment management. The company provides a broad range of services including leasing, advisory, property and asset management, capital markets, project and development services, and valuation. Through its integrated platform, JLL serves corporate occupiers, institutional investors, real estate owners and developers, offering tailored solutions that span the entire real estate lifecycle.

Founded in 1783 in London as Jones Lang Wootton, the firm established a reputation for expertise in property management and brokerage.

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