Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 3,228 Shares of Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL) by 38.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,728 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,228 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Jabil were worth $1,494,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in Jabil during the 3rd quarter worth about $63,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Jabil during the 4th quarter worth about $1,146,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in Jabil by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 29,305 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,719,000 after purchasing an additional 3,887 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in Jabil by 87.1% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 185,371 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $23,522,000 after purchasing an additional 86,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cozad Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Jabil by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 90,828 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,525,000 after purchasing an additional 16,038 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.39% of the company’s stock.

Jabil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JBL opened at $120.89 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $14.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Jabil Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.48 and a 1-year high of $156.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $137.25 and its 200 day moving average is $131.02.

Jabil (NYSE:JBL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 15th. The technology company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.91 billion. Jabil had a net margin of 4.70% and a return on equity of 39.47%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Jabil Inc. will post 7.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jabil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. Jabil’s dividend payout ratio is 2.75%.

Insider Activity at Jabil

In related news, CEO Kenneth S. Wilson sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.20, for a total transaction of $2,013,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 339,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,591,095. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Kenneth S. Wilson sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.20, for a total transaction of $2,013,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 339,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,591,095. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Mark T. Mondello sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.09, for a total value of $6,304,500.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,809,194 shares in the company, valued at $228,121,271.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 107,177 shares of company stock valued at $13,678,039. Corporate insiders own 2.62% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JBL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on Jabil from $151.00 to $149.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. StockNews.com raised Jabil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Argus cut Jabil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Jabil from $141.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $144.50.

About Jabil

Jabil Inc provides manufacturing services and solutions worldwide. It operates in two segments, Electronics Manufacturing Services and Diversified Manufacturing Services. The company offers electronics design, production, and product management services; electronic circuit design services, such as application-specific integrated circuit design, firmware development, and rapid prototyping services; and designs plastic and metal enclosures that include the electro-mechanics, such as the printed circuit board assemblies (PCBA).