Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) Shares Sold by Earnest Partners LLC

Earnest Partners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 262,605 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 14,089 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC owned 1.39% of Jack in the Box worth $10,935,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Jack in the Box by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 738,297 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $30,244,000 after acquiring an additional 25,881 shares in the last quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Jack in the Box by 59.2% during the fourth quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC now owns 440,619 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $18,347,000 after purchasing an additional 163,834 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Jack in the Box by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 436,361 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $18,170,000 after purchasing an additional 47,851 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Jack in the Box by 70.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 216,117 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $10,060,000 after buying an additional 89,649 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Jack in the Box by 178.5% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 196,740 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $8,192,000 after buying an additional 126,101 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on JACK. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Jack in the Box in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $24.00 price target on shares of Jack in the Box in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Jack in the Box from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Jack in the Box from $40.00 to $24.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Jack in the Box from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Jack in the Box presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $44.00.

Jack in the Box Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ JACK traded up $1.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $27.16. 561,515 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 658,760. Jack in the Box Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.01 and a fifty-two week high of $60.73. The firm has a market cap of $512.18 million, a PE ratio of -13.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.81. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.45.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The restaurant operator reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $469.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $470.47 million. Jack in the Box had a negative return on equity of 15.79% and a negative net margin of 2.34%. As a group, analysts predict that Jack in the Box Inc. will post 5.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jack in the Box Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.48%. Jack in the Box's dividend payout ratio is currently -82.63%.

Jack in the Box Profile

Jack in the Box Inc operates and franchises Jack in the Box and Del Taco quick-service restaurants in the United States. The company was founded in 1951 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.