Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Increases Holdings in Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J - Free Report) by 345.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,637,596 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,597,564 shares during the period. Jacobs Solutions comprises approximately 2.1% of Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC owned 3.78% of Jacobs Solutions worth $619,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Jacobs Solutions by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 11,006 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,471,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 12,385 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,655,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in Jacobs Solutions by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 958 shares of the company's stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in Jacobs Solutions by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,773 shares of the company's stock valued at $371,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Jacobs Solutions by 42.7% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 334 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 85.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on J shares. Truist Financial cut their price target on Jacobs Solutions from $141.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Jacobs Solutions from $154.00 to $148.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Jacobs Solutions from $161.00 to $151.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $150.86.

Jacobs Solutions Price Performance

NYSE:J traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $123.01. The stock had a trading volume of 186,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 781,144. Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a one year low of $106.23 and a one year high of $156.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $121.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $131.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.73.

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.92 billion. Jacobs Solutions had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 14.87%. The firm's revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Jacobs Solutions Inc. will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Jacobs Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. This is an increase from Jacobs Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Jacobs Solutions's payout ratio is currently 26.39%.

Jacobs Solutions announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 4th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Jacobs Solutions Profile

Jacobs Solutions Inc provides consulting, technical, engineering, scientific, and project delivery services for the government and private sectors in the United States, Europe, Canada, India, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, and Africa. It operates through Critical Mission Solutions, People & Places Solutions, Divergent Solutions, and PA Consulting segments.