SG Americas Securities LLC Takes Position in John Bean Technologies Co. (NYSE:JBT)

SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in John Bean Technologies Co. (NYSE:JBT) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,442 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $143,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of JBT. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in John Bean Technologies by 3.6% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,821 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $689,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in John Bean Technologies by 4.6% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $761,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in John Bean Technologies by 6.7% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in John Bean Technologies by 11.5% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 30,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,575,000 after buying an additional 3,120 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in John Bean Technologies by 55.8% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 16,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,995,000 after buying an additional 6,030 shares during the period. 98.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

John Bean Technologies Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE JBT opened at $90.56 on Wednesday. John Bean Technologies Co. has a 1 year low of $89.96 and a 1 year high of $125.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $100.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.22. The firm has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 2.27.

John Bean Technologies (NYSE:JBT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The industrial products company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $444.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.81 million. John Bean Technologies had a net margin of 33.53% and a return on equity of 12.15%. John Bean Technologies’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that John Bean Technologies Co. will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current year.

John Bean Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. John Bean Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of John Bean Technologies in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, John Bean Technologies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.00.

About John Bean Technologies

John Bean Technologies Corporation provides technology solutions to food and beverage industry in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. It offers value-added processing that includes chilling, mixing/grinding, injecting, blending, marinating, tumbling, flattening, forming, portioning, coating, cooking, frying, freezing, extracting, pasteurizing, sterilizing, concentrating, high pressure processing, weighing, inspecting, filling, closing, sealing, end of line material handling, and packaging solutions to the food, beverage, and health market.