Citigroup Inc. Reduces Holdings in The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:COO)

Citigroup Inc. cut its holdings in The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:COO) by 33.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 180,403 shares of the medical device company’s stock after selling 90,878 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Cooper Companies were worth $19,906,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cooper Companies by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 7,820,590 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $682,738,000 after purchasing an additional 231,155 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Cooper Companies by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,950,119 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $435,856,000 after buying an additional 737,726 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its position in Cooper Companies by 31.0% in the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,359,798 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $205,511,000 after buying an additional 558,886 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Cooper Companies by 16.6% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,600,420 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $139,717,000 after buying an additional 228,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Cooper Companies by 12.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,341,944 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $117,156,000 after acquiring an additional 148,500 shares during the last quarter. 24.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Cooper Companies from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Cooper Companies from $118.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cooper Companies in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up from $110.00) on shares of Cooper Companies in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Cooper Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cooper Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Agostino Ricupati sold 1,601 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.03, for a total value of $172,956.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $520,488.54. This represents a 24.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Daniel G. Mcbride sold 114,992 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.48, for a total transaction of $12,129,356.16. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 44,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,714,534.08. The trade was a 72.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 256,373 shares of company stock worth $27,637,427. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Cooper Companies Stock Performance

Shares of COO opened at $102.64 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.99. The Cooper Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.21 and a 1 year high of $112.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.44 billion, a PE ratio of 57.18, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.99.

Cooper Companies (NASDAQ:COO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The medical device company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.05. Cooper Companies had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 9.08%. The company had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $997.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that The Cooper Companies, Inc. will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.