Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated $JLL

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (NYSE:JLL) by 15.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 113,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 21,444 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Jones Lang LaSalle were worth $38,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Jones Lang LaSalle during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in Jones Lang LaSalle by 1,720.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 91 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Chilton Capital Management LLC grew its position in Jones Lang LaSalle by 33.0% during the third quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Jones Lang LaSalle during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Jones Lang LaSalle during the third quarter worth about $44,000. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JLL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Jones Lang LaSalle from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, January 11th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Jones Lang LaSalle from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Jones Lang LaSalle from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Jones Lang LaSalle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Jones Lang LaSalle from $355.00 to $348.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Richard Bloxam sold 5,440 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.94, for a total value of $1,615,353.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Deborah H. Mcaneny sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.50, for a total transaction of $751,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 14,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,502,992.50. The trade was a 14.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Jones Lang LaSalle Stock Performance

Shares of JLL opened at $330.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The company has a market capitalization of $15.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $315.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $322.46. Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated has a 1 year low of $211.86 and a 1 year high of $363.06.

Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE:JLL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $6.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. Jones Lang LaSalle had a net margin of 3.35% and a return on equity of 13.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated will post 22.35 EPS for the current year.

About Jones Lang LaSalle

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.