Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE:JLL) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (NYSE:JLL) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $299.93, but opened at $314.99. Jones Lang LaSalle shares last traded at $327.3550, with a volume of 111,055 shares traded.

The financial services provider reported $6.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.15 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $7.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.24 billion. Jones Lang LaSalle’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.50 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on JLL shares. Citigroup reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Jones Lang LaSalle in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Jones Lang LaSalle from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Jones Lang LaSalle from $368.00 to $401.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Zacks Research lowered Jones Lang LaSalle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Jones Lang LaSalle from $415.00 to $385.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $427.60.

Insider Activity at Jones Lang LaSalle

In other news, CEO Christian Ulbrich sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $385.53, for a total transaction of $771,060.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 138,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,364,291.54. This trade represents a 1.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,000 shares of company stock worth $2,271,060. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jones Lang LaSalle

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Jones Lang LaSalle during the second quarter valued at about $1,446,414,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Jones Lang LaSalle by 279.6% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 429,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $130,683,000 after acquiring an additional 316,299 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Jones Lang LaSalle during the 2nd quarter worth about $87,669,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Jones Lang LaSalle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $83,791,000. Finally, Equity Investment Corp acquired a new position in shares of Jones Lang LaSalle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $81,056,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jones Lang LaSalle Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $333.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $324.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.77 and a beta of 1.30.

About Jones Lang LaSalle

Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated, doing business as JLL, is a global commercial real estate services and investment management company. It serves property owners, occupiers, investors and developers across a broad range of real estate sectors, including office, industrial, retail, residential, hospitality and specialized properties.

JLL’s services include leasing, capital markets and investment sales, property and facilities management, project and development management, valuation and advisory services, workplace strategy, sustainability consulting and real estate technology solutions.