Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Infosys Put Options (NYSE:INFY)

Infosys Limited (NYSE:INFY) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 7,711 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 154% compared to the average volume of 3,038 put options.

Infosys Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:INFY traded down $0.55 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.06. The stock had a trading volume of 10,564,410 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,803,985. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.33 billion, a PE ratio of 29.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.98. Infosys has a 52 week low of $16.04 and a 52 week high of $22.94. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $19.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.77.

Infosys (NYSE:INFY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The technology company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.18. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.67 billion. Infosys had a return on equity of 32.01% and a net margin of 17.18%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. Analysts forecast that Infosys will post 0.75 EPS for the current year.

Infosys Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a dividend of $0.2035 per share. This represents a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. Infosys’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Infosys from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Infosys from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $20.10 target price on shares of Infosys in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Infosys from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “negative” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Macquarie upgraded shares of Infosys from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.27.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Infosys

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Infosys by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 25,209,033 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $463,342,000 after purchasing an additional 884,833 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd boosted its position in Infosys by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 18,459,935 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $339,294,000 after buying an additional 1,031,371 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of Infosys by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 16,591,434 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $297,484,000 after buying an additional 699,641 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Infosys by 2.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,143,005 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $139,327,000 after acquiring an additional 180,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Infosys by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,719,669 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $123,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150,885 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 10.89% of the company’s stock.

About Infosys

Infosys Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides consulting, technology, outsourcing, and next-generation digital services in North America, Europe, India, and internationally. It provides digital marketing and digital workplace, digital commerce, digital experience and interactions, metaverse, data analytics and AI, applied AI, generative AI, sustainability, blockchain, engineering, Internet of Things, enterprise agile DevOps, application modernization, cloud, digital process automation, digital supply chain, Microsoft business application and cloud business, service experience transformation, energy transition, cyber security, and quality engineering solutions; Oracle, SAP, and Saleforce solutions; API economy and microservices; and Topaz, an AI-first set of services, solutions, and platforms using generative AI technologies.