Royal Bank of Canada Boosts Holdings in CGI Group, Inc. $GIB

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in CGI Group, acquiring an additional 747,918 shares, which brings its total to approximately 8.15 million shares, valued at around $813.79 million.
• CGI Group plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.1086 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for August 15th, representing a yield of 0.4%.
• Analysts have mixed views on CGI Group, with an average rating of "Buy" and a price target of $148.25, although Royal Bank of Canada lowered its target from $185 to $175.

Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of CGI Group, Inc. (NYSE:GIB - Free Report) TSE: GIB.A by 10.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,151,753 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 747,918 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 3.60% of CGI Group worth $813,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CGI Group in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in CGI Group by 239.5% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 258 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in CGI Group by 292.6% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,005 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 749 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in CGI Group by 371.7% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,052 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC boosted its position in CGI Group by 7,051.9% during the 1st quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 1,931 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $193,000 after acquiring an additional 1,904 shares in the last quarter. 66.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CGI Group Price Performance

Shares of GIB stock traded up $0.82 on Friday, reaching $96.11. 82,638 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 284,933. The company has a market cap of $21.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $98.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.27. CGI Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $92.85 and a 1 year high of $122.79.

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

CGI Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.1086 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.43 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from CGI Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. CGI Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on CGI Group from $112.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on CGI Group from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target 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.