PC Connection (NASDAQ:CNXN) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• PC Connection shares opened higher, rising from a prior close of $76.71 to $79.87 before trading at approximately $79.62.
• Analysts upgraded the stock, with Wall Street Zen moving it to “buy,” Weiss Ratings raising its score, and Zacks Research upgrading it to “strong buy.” The company also beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $1.31 versus a $1.00 estimate and revenue of $854 million.
• PC Connection declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, equivalent to an annualized $0.80 payout and a 1.0% yield; insiders have sold shares recently but still own 56.6% of the company.

PC Connection, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNXN - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $76.71, but opened at $79.87. PC Connection shares last traded at $79.6240, with a volume of 1,735 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of PC Connection from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of PC Connection from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded PC Connection from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PC Connection has an average rating of "Strong Buy".

PC Connection Trading Down 0.4%

The stock has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.86. The company's fifty day moving average is $77.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.74.

PC Connection (NASDAQ:CNXN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.31. PC Connection had a return on equity of 10.90% and a net margin of 3.21%.The business had revenue of $854.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $764.79 million. Analysts predict that PC Connection, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

PC Connection Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. PC Connection's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PC Connection news, Chairman Patricia Gallup sold 7,384 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.91, for a total transaction of $530,983.44. Following the sale, the chairman owned 7,027,747 shares in the company, valued at $505,365,286.77. This represents a 0.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,876 shares of company stock worth $3,226,800. Insiders own 56.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of PC Connection by 625.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 580 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in PC Connection by 196.7% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 629 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in PC Connection by 200.4% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 709 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PC Connection during the first quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in PC Connection during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.85% of the company's stock.

PC Connection Company Profile

PC Connection, Inc NASDAQ: CNXN, now operating under the trade name Connection, is a value-added provider of information technology solutions founded in 1982 and headquartered in Merrimack, New Hampshire. The company offers a broad portfolio of hardware and software products sourced from leading technology vendors, alongside professional services designed to help organizations design, deploy and maintain IT environments.

Connection's product offerings encompass desktop and notebook computers, servers and storage systems, networking and cybersecurity solutions, as well as cloud and virtualization technologies.

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