Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 316,299 Shares of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated $JLL

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (NYSE:JLL) by 279.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 429,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 316,299 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Jones Lang LaSalle were worth $130,683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JLL. DigitalBridge Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Jones Lang LaSalle during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,223,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Jones Lang LaSalle in the fourth quarter worth $3,901,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Jones Lang LaSalle by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 990,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,451,000 after purchasing an additional 15,995 shares in the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Jones Lang LaSalle during the first quarter worth $4,405,000. Finally, Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Jones Lang LaSalle during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,507,000. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jones Lang LaSalle Trading Up 4.4%

Shares of Jones Lang LaSalle stock opened at $328.19 on Thursday. Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated has a 1 year low of $246.07 and a 1 year high of $363.06. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $304.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $317.89. The company has a market cap of $15.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE:JLL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $6.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6 billion. Jones Lang LaSalle had a net margin of 3.35% and a return on equity of 13.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated will post 22.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jones Lang LaSalle

In related news, Director Larry Quinlan sold 402 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.73, for a total value of $121,295.46. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,318,258.37. This trade represents a 8.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JLL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on Jones Lang LaSalle from $348.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Zacks Research upgraded Jones Lang LaSalle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group upped their target price on Jones Lang LaSalle from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Jones Lang LaSalle from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Jones Lang LaSalle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $394.00.

Jones Lang LaSalle Company Profile

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.