Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Stake in Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL) by 39.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,579 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 68,911 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.09% of Jabil worth $13,279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Jabil by 92.8% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 18,056 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,164,000 after acquiring an additional 8,693 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Jabil in the third quarter valued at approximately $347,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Jabil by 1.3% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 46,101 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,045,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Jabil by 365.6% during the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 20,767 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,474,000 after buying an additional 16,307 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Jabil by 157.9% in the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 15,091 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after buying an additional 9,239 shares in the last quarter. 93.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America raised their target price on Jabil from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Jabil from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Jabil from $157.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $160.00 price target (up previously from $150.00) on shares of Jabil in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Jabil from $137.00 to $133.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $153.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jabil

In related news, EVP Frederic E. Mccoy sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.70, for a total value of $474,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 108,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,908,981.10. This trade represents a 3.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Francis Mckay sold 11,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.71, for a total transaction of $1,430,701.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,051,816.97. This trade represents a 22.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 43,689 shares of company stock worth $5,377,431 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.73% of the company’s stock.

Jabil Trading Up 3.2 %

NYSE JBL opened at $145.00 on Friday. Jabil Inc. has a 52 week low of $95.85 and a 52 week high of $156.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $130.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.20 billion, a PE ratio of 13.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Jabil (NYSE:JBL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The technology company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.61 billion. Jabil had a return on equity of 42.64% and a net margin of 4.81%. Jabil’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Jabil Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jabil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.22%. Jabil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.90%.

Jabil Profile

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).