Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated $JLL

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors opened a new position in Jones Lang LaSalle, buying 15,242 shares worth about $5.13 million in the fourth quarter.
• Institutional ownership in JLL remains very high, with 94.8% of the stock held by institutions and hedge funds. Several other large investors also increased their stakes recently.
• JLL’s latest quarter topped expectations, with earnings of $3.43 per share and revenue of $6.39 billion, both ahead of analyst forecasts. The stock also has a Moderate Buy consensus rating and a price target of $394.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (NYSE:JLL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 15,242 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,128,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of Jones Lang LaSalle by 184,969.0% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,864,241 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,300,201,000 after buying an additional 3,862,153 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Jones Lang LaSalle by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 993,742 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $334,364,000 after buying an additional 4,543 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Jones Lang LaSalle by 5.2% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 598,980 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $178,664,000 after buying an additional 29,560 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY grew its holdings in shares of Jones Lang LaSalle by 8.8% during the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 564,097 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $168,259,000 after buying an additional 45,733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its holdings in shares of Jones Lang LaSalle by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 402,173 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $135,319,000 after buying an additional 31,569 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on JLL shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Jones Lang LaSalle from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Jones Lang LaSalle from $405.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Jones Lang LaSalle from $348.00 to $366.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Jones Lang LaSalle from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Jones Lang LaSalle from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Jones Lang LaSalle has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $394.00.

Jones Lang LaSalle Stock Up 0.4%

Jones Lang LaSalle stock opened at $290.72 on Thursday. Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $217.21 and a fifty-two week high of $363.06. The stock has a market cap of $13.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.63 and a beta of 1.34. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $313.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $321.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35.

Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE:JLL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $6.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6 billion. Jones Lang LaSalle had a net margin of 3.35% and a return on equity of 13.01%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated will post 22.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Jones Lang LaSalle news, CEO Richard Bloxam sold 5,440 shares of Jones Lang LaSalle stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.94, for a total value of $1,615,353.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Deborah H. Mcaneny sold 2,500 shares of Jones Lang LaSalle stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.50, for a total transaction of $751,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 14,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,502,992.50. This represents a 14.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

Jones Lang LaSalle 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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