Equity Investment Corp Sells 256,289 Shares of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated $JLL

Key Points

• Equity Investment Corp cut its JLL stake by 98% in the third quarter, selling 256,289 shares and retaining 5,225 shares valued at about $1.6 million.
• JLL reported quarterly EPS of $6.76, beating the $6.15 estimate, while revenue rose 11.8% year over year to $7.28 billion.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $427.60; JLL shares opened at $374.80.

Equity Investment Corp lowered its stake in shares of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (NYSE:JLL - Free Report) by 98.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,225 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 256,289 shares during the quarter. Equity Investment Corp's holdings in Jones Lang LaSalle were worth $1,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Jones Lang LaSalle in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Jones Lang LaSalle in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Jones Lang LaSalle during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Jones Lang LaSalle during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Jones Lang LaSalle during the second quarter worth about $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JLL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Jones Lang LaSalle in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. 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 research report on Monday, August 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Jones Lang LaSalle from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Jones Lang LaSalle from $415.00 to $385.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Jones Lang LaSalle in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $427.60.

Jones Lang LaSalle Stock Down 1.4%

JLL opened at $374.80 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $330.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $325.48. The company has a quick ratio of 2.43, a current ratio of 2.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $17.12 billion, a PE ratio of 16.22 and a beta of 1.29. Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated has a 52 week low of $259.83 and a 52 week high of $395.79.

Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE:JLL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $6.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.61. Jones Lang LaSalle had a return on equity of 15.05% and a net margin of 3.89%. The company had revenue of $7.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.24 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.50 EPS. The company's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated will post 25.16 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Jones Lang LaSalle news, CEO Christian Ulbrich sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $385.53, for a total value of $771,060.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 138,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,364,291.54. The trade was a 1.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,271,060. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

About Jones Lang LaSalle

Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated, commonly known as JLL, is a global commercial real estate services and investment management company. It advises businesses, property owners, investors and public-sector organizations on real estate decisions and operations. Its services include leasing and sales, property and facilities management, project and development management, valuation, workplace consulting and capital markets advisory. Through LaSalle Investment Management, JLL also manages real estate investments for institutional and other clients.

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