CTS (NYSE:CTS) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of CTS (NYSE:CTS - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Sunday.

Separately, Scotiabank downgraded shares of CTS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th.

CTS Stock Performance

CTS stock traded down $0.65 during trading on Friday, reaching $45.76. 119,764 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 145,888. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.08 and a beta of 0.59. CTS has a twelve month low of $42.63 and a twelve month high of $59.68.

CTS (NYSE:CTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The electronics maker reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.06). CTS had a return on equity of 12.67% and a net margin of 11.27%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CTS will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

CTS Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. CTS's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CTS news, CEO Kieran M. O'sullivan sold 6,690 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.83, for a total value of $373,502.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 375,643 shares in the company, valued at $20,972,148.69. The trade was a 1.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 59,956 shares of company stock worth $3,331,185 in the last 90 days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CTS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CTS during the 4th quarter valued at $4,439,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of CTS by 72.5% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 135,969 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $7,170,000 after purchasing an additional 57,135 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of CTS by 37.8% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 7,931 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 2,175 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of CTS in the fourth quarter valued at about $332,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CTS by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 67,418 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $3,555,000 after buying an additional 5,052 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.87% of the company's stock.

About CTS

CTS Corporation manufactures and sells sensors, actuators, and connectivity components in North America, Europe, and Asia. The company provides encoders, rotary position sensors, slide potentiometers, industrial and commercial rotary potentiometers. It also provides non-contacting, and contacting pedals; and eBrake pedals.