KBC Group NV Makes New Investment in Genpact Limited (NYSE:G)

KBC Group NV acquired a new position in Genpact Limited (NYSE:G - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,942 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $298,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in G. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Genpact by 6.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,148,185 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $162,318,000 after purchasing an additional 252,674 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Genpact by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,691,406 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $148,142,000 after purchasing an additional 413,646 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Genpact by 192.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,129,341 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $122,701,000 after buying an additional 2,060,595 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in Genpact by 29.9% in the 3rd quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 677,504 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,565,000 after buying an additional 155,889 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Genpact in the 3rd quarter worth $19,779,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.03% of the company's stock.

Genpact Price Performance

Shares of NYSE G traded up $5.58 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $54.98. 4,185,551 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,459,810. The company's 50 day moving average is $44.92 and its 200 day moving average is $41.15. Genpact Limited has a one year low of $30.23 and a one year high of $56.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.20.

Genpact (NYSE:G - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The business services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.04). Genpact had a net margin of 14.22% and a return on equity of 21.85%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Genpact Limited will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Genpact Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. This is a positive change from Genpact's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Genpact's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Genpact

In related news, SVP Piyush Mehta sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.83, for a total transaction of $513,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 151,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,475,125.06. This represents a 7.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Balkrishan Kalra sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.40, for a total value of $417,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 267,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,407,545.60. The trade was a 3.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,058 shares of company stock worth $1,558,675 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Genpact from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Genpact from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $55.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen raised shares of Genpact from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $60.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Genpact from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $47.63.

Genpact Profile

Genpact Limited provides business process outsourcing and information technology services in India, rest of Asia, North and Latin America, and Europe. It operates through three segments: Financial services; Consumer and Healthcare; and High Tech and Manufacturing. The Financial Services segment offers retail customer onboarding, customer service, collections, card servicing operations, loan and payment operations, commercial loan, equipment and auto loan, mortgage origination, compliance services, reporting and monitoring, and wealth management operations support; financial crime and risk management services; and underwriting support, new business processing, policy administration, claims management, catastrophe modeling and actuarial services, as well as property and casualty claims.