Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,212,557 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 150,373 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.73% of Jack in the Box worth $92,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JACK. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Jack in the Box by 229.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Jack in the Box by 99.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,235 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 616 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Jack in the Box by 168.6% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,558 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 978 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Jack in the Box in the 4th quarter worth about $72,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Jack in the Box in the 4th quarter worth about $137,000. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jack in the Box Trading Up 12.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ JACK opened at $25.69 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.66. Jack in the Box Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.34 and a twelve month high of $62.26. The company has a market capitalization of $484.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.81.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The restaurant operator reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $469.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $470.47 million. Jack in the Box had a negative net margin of 2.34% and a negative return on equity of 15.79%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Jack in the Box Inc. will post 5.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Jack in the Box Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. Jack in the Box’s dividend payout ratio is presently -82.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Jack in the Box from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Jack in the Box from $53.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Jack in the Box from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Jack in the Box from $55.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Jack in the Box in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Jack in the Box presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.82.

Jack in the Box Company Profile

Jack in the Box Inc operates and franchises Jack in the Box and Del Taco quick-service restaurants in the United States. The company was founded in 1951 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.