Aviso Financial Inc. Acquires 15,572 Shares of CGI Group, Inc. $GIB

Key Points

• Aviso Financial Inc. increased its stake in CGI Group, Inc. by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, owning 607,166 shares, which constitutes roughly 3.0% of its portfolio.
• CGI Group reported earnings of $1.52 per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates of $1.51, while revenue was $3 billion, below the consensus of $4.01 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.1086 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $0.43 and a yield of 0.5%.

Aviso Financial Inc. raised its holdings in CGI Group, Inc. (NYSE:GIB - Free Report) TSE: GIB.A by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 607,166 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,572 shares during the period. CGI Group comprises about 3.0% of Aviso Financial Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Aviso Financial Inc. owned about 0.27% of CGI Group worth $60,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GIB. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in CGI Group by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 8,514 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $931,000 after acquiring an additional 829 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in CGI Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $925,000. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in CGI Group by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 2,768 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its stake in CGI Group by 80.4% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in CGI Group by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 95,532 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $10,448,000 after acquiring an additional 18,421 shares during the period. 66.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CGI Group Stock Up 2.3%

NYSE GIB traded up $2.1380 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $96.9780. 369,640 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 375,360. The business's 50-day moving average is $100.55 and its 200-day moving average is $104.57. CGI Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $92.85 and a twelve month high of $122.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.72.

CGI Group (NYSE:GIB - Get Free Report) TSE: GIB.A last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.01. CGI Group had a return on equity of 18.53% and a net margin of 11.01%.The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.91 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CGI Group, Inc. will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current year.

CGI Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.1086 dividend. This is a positive change from CGI Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.43 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. CGI Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on GIB. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on CGI Group from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group decreased their target price on CGI Group from $112.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CGI Group currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $148.25.

CGI Group Profile

CGI Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides information technology (IT) and business process services. Its services include the business and strategic IT consulting, systems integration, and software solutions. The company also provides application development, modernization and maintenance, holistic enterprise digitization, automation, hybrid and cloud management, and business process services; intellectual property-based solutions; business consulting; managed IT services; and IT infrastructure services.