Ariel Investments: “Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) was Another Strong Performer”

Ariel Investments, an investment management firm, published its “Ariel Fund & Ariel Appreciation Fund” third-quarter 2021 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. A return of -0.17% was recorded by the Fund for the third quarter of 2021, compared to the Russell 2500TM Value Index, Russell 2500TM Index, and S&P 500® Index which had a -2.07%, -2.68%, and 0.58% returns respectively for the same period. You can take a look at the fund’s top 5 holdings to have an idea about their best picks for 2021.

Ariel Fund & Ariel Appreciation Fund, in its Q3 2021 investor letter, mentioned Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (NYSE: JLL) and discussed its stance on the firm. Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated is a Chicago, Illinois-based commercial real estate services company with a $12.9 billion market capitalization. JLL delivered a 73.04% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are up by 69.80%. The stock closed at $256.74 per share on December 15, 2021.

Here is what Ariel Fund & Ariel Appreciation Fund has to say about Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated  in its Q3 2021 investor letter:

“In addition, real estate expert Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) was another strong performer over the trailing one-year period. Despite pandemic related headwinds for commercial real estate transaction activity, the company continued to prudently manage expenditures to preserve cash. JLL’s diverse business model and annuity-like nontransaction revenue mix, such as corporate outsourcing, helped offset weakness in the cyclical leasing and capital market businesses until vaccination rates rose. Then, this summer, JLL reported a broad recovery across the firm’s transaction-based businesses. Strong capital market and leasing activity drove management to meaningfully raise the company’s EBITDA margin outlook. Meanwhile, JLL continues to return excess capital through share repurchases. At current levels, we remain optimistic about JLL’s value proposition for key stakeholders.”

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Based on our calculations, Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (NYSE: JLL) was not able to clinch a spot in our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. JLL was in 30 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2021, compared to 31 funds in the previous quarter. Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (NYSE: JLL) delivered a 6.60% return in the past 3 months.

Just last month, we also shared another hedge fund’s views on JLL in another article. You can find more than 100 investor letters from hedge funds and prominent investors on our hedge fund investor letters 2021 Q3 page.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.