Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 253,464 Shares of CDW Co. (NASDAQ:CDW)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. reduced its holdings in CDW Co. (NASDAQ:CDW) by 47.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 278,728 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 253,464 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in CDW were worth $48,510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in CDW in the third quarter valued at $416,111,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of CDW by 7,029.1% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,466,597 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $331,891,000 after acquiring an additional 1,446,025 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of CDW in the third quarter worth approximately $172,217,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in CDW by 18,259.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 687,189 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $119,598,000 after acquiring an additional 683,446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in CDW by 7,549.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 256,271 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $44,601,000 after purchasing an additional 252,921 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CDW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of CDW from $233.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of CDW from $193.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays increased their price target on CDW from $201.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on CDW in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $230.00 target price on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $242.67.

CDW Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CDW opened at $172.50 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. CDW Co. has a twelve month low of $168.43 and a twelve month high of $263.37. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $186.80 and its 200-day moving average is $198.81.

CDW (NASDAQ:CDW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology services provider reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.07. CDW had a return on equity of 55.42% and a net margin of 5.13%. Sell-side analysts forecast that CDW Co. will post 9.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CDW Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. CDW’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.37%.

CDW announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 5th that allows the company to buyback $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology services provider to purchase up to 2.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About CDW

CDW Corporation provides information technology (IT) solutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. It operates through three segments: Corporate, Small Business, and Public. The company offers discrete hardware and software products and services, as well as integrated IT solutions, including on-premise and cloud capabilities across hybrid infrastructure, digital experience, and security.