First Trust Advisors LP Sells 18,039 Shares of The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:COO)

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its position in shares of The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:COO - Free Report) by 22.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,474 shares of the medical device company's stock after selling 18,039 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in Cooper Companies were worth $5,835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in Cooper Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $691,000. Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cooper Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,004,000. Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in Cooper Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $282,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cooper Companies by 194.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 48,892 shares of the medical device company's stock valued at $5,265,000 after buying an additional 32,260 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Cooper Companies by 6.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 238,305 shares of the medical device company's stock valued at $26,295,000 after acquiring an additional 14,687 shares during the period. 24.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COO has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Cooper Companies from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Cooper Companies to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Cooper Companies from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Cooper Companies from $117.00 to $107.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Cooper Companies in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $110.25.

Cooper Companies Stock Performance

Shares of COO stock traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $81.29. 179,232 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,429,802. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $81.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.68, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.08. The Cooper Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.81 and a 52 week high of $112.38.

Cooper Companies (NASDAQ:COO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The medical device company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.92. The firm had revenue of $964.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $981.25 million. Cooper Companies had a return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 10.07%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Cooper Companies, Inc. will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current year.

About Cooper Companies

The Cooper Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and markets contact lens wearers. The company operates in two segments, CooperVision and CooperSurgical. The CooperVision segment provides spherical lense, including lenses that correct near and farsightedness; and toric and multifocal lenses comprising lenses correcting vision challenges, such as astigmatism, presbyopia, and myopia in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific.