Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated $JLL

Key Points

• Norges Bank opened a new position in Jones Lang LaSalle during the fourth quarter, buying 579,397 shares worth about $194.95 million and ending the period with roughly 1.23% ownership.
• JLL reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $3.43 versus expectations of $3.01 and revenue of $6.39 billion, up 11.1% year over year.
• Wall Street sentiment remains broadly positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $394, though some analysts recently trimmed ratings or price targets.

Norges Bank bought a new position in Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (NYSE:JLL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 579,397 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $194,950,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.23% of Jones Lang LaSalle at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in Jones Lang LaSalle by 184,969.0% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,864,241 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,300,201,000 after acquiring an additional 3,862,153 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in Jones Lang LaSalle by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 993,742 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $334,364,000 after acquiring an additional 4,543 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Jones Lang LaSalle by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 990,836 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $333,451,000 after acquiring an additional 15,995 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Jones Lang LaSalle by 5.2% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 598,980 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $178,664,000 after acquiring an additional 29,560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY boosted its holdings in Jones Lang LaSalle by 8.8% in the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 564,097 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $168,259,000 after acquiring an additional 45,733 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Jones Lang LaSalle news, CEO Richard Bloxam sold 5,440 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.94, for a total transaction of $1,615,353.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Deborah H. Mcaneny sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.50, for a total value of $751,250.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 Stock Performance

Shares of JLL opened at $289.61 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated has a one year low of $225.33 and a one year high of $363.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.57 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a fifty day moving average of $312.06 and a 200 day moving average of $321.25.

Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE:JLL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.42. Jones Lang LaSalle had a return on equity of 13.01% and a net margin of 3.35%.The company had revenue of $6.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. Jones Lang LaSalle's revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated will post 22.8 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JLL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut Jones Lang LaSalle from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Jones Lang LaSalle from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Jones Lang LaSalle from $405.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on Jones Lang LaSalle from $348.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Jones Lang LaSalle from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $394.00.

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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