First Trust Advisors LP Increases Stake in Parsons Co. (NYSE:PSN)

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Parsons Co. (NYSE:PSN - Free Report) by 25.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 197,515 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 39,672 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.19% of Parsons worth $18,221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Parsons by 271.6% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,069,724 shares of the company's stock valued at $190,932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,512,812 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Parsons in the 4th quarter valued at about $63,417,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Parsons in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,447,000. FIL Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Parsons in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,868,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Parsons by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,056,390 shares of the company's stock valued at $189,702,000 after acquiring an additional 255,810 shares in the last quarter. 98.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PSN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Parsons from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen cut Parsons from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $105.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Parsons from $130.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Parsons from $109.00 to $98.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Parsons from $125.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Parsons has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $93.60.

Parsons Stock Performance

PSN traded down $1.91 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $66.75. The stock had a trading volume of 3,242,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,103,597. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $61.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.77. Parsons Co. has a 1 year low of $54.56 and a 1 year high of $114.68. The stock has a market cap of $7.13 billion, a PE ratio of 87.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Parsons announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 24th that permits the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Parsons Company Profile

Parsons Corporation provides integrated solutions and services in the defense, intelligence, and critical infrastructure markets in North America, the Middle East, and internationally. The company operates through Federal Solutions and Critical Infrastructure segments. The Federal Solutions segment provides critical technologies, such as cybersecurity; missile defense; intelligence; space launch and ground systems; space and weapon system resiliency; geospatial intelligence; signals intelligence; environmental remediation; border security, critical infrastructure protection; counter unmanned air systems; biometrics and bio surveillance solutions to U.S.