Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on CDW (NASDAQ:CDW)

CDW Corporation (NASDAQ:CDW) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 3,680 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 2,244% compared to the typical volume of 157 call options.

Key Stories Impacting CDW

Here are the key news stories impacting CDW this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts still view CDW favorably overall — the consensus recommendation is a “Moderate Buy,” supporting medium-term demand for the stock. CDW Corporation (NASDAQ:CDW) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts
• Positive Sentiment: Business partnership: Geotab and CDWare announced an integrated telematics solution for ready?mix fleets — a niche commercial win that expands CDW-related services exposure and may support revenue in vertical software/solutions. Geotab and CDWare Partner to Deliver Ready-Mix Telematics Solution
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate calendar: CDW scheduled its Q4 and full?year 2025 results call for Feb. 4 — an event that could drive short?term volatility depending on guidance and margins. Management will post slides and host a webcast. CDW to Announce Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results on February 4
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downward moves: Citigroup cut CDW’s price target to $148 and put a “neutral” rating in a note, trimming near?term upside expectations and likely pressuring the stock. CDW price target lowered by Citigroup (Benzinga)
• Negative Sentiment: Sector headwinds: Reports show U.S. IT hardware stocks sliding amid economic uncertainty — a sector-wide pullback that can weigh on CDW given its hardware/distribution exposure. U.S. IT Hardware Stocks Slide Amid Economic Uncertainty
• Negative Sentiment: Relative weakness: Coverage noted CDW underperformed peers recently, suggesting investors are rotating away from the name within the group. CDW Corp. stock underperforms Tuesday when compared to competitors
• Negative Sentiment: Institutional/insider flows: Recent data show significant institutional reductions by several large funds and at least one insider sale, which can amplify downward pressure on the stock. Quiver Quantitative: New Analyst Forecast and institutional activity

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CDW news, insider Sona Chawla sold 7,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.17, for a total transaction of $1,081,658.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 28,110 shares in the company, valued at $4,108,838.70. This represents a 20.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CDW

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CDW during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of CDW in the 3rd quarter worth $57,000. eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CDW during the fourth quarter worth $61,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of CDW by 87.9% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 483 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of CDW in the 4th quarter valued at $110,000. 93.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CDW shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of CDW in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of CDW from $160.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut shares of CDW from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $177.00 to $141.00 in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of CDW in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of CDW from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.00.

CDW Stock Performance

CDW traded up $3.00 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $127.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 253,492 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,390,373. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.63 billion, a PE ratio of 16.14, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.08. CDW has a fifty-two week low of $124.00 and a fifty-two week high of $222.92.

CDW (NASDAQ:CDW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The information technology services provider reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.75 billion. CDW had a return on equity of 51.89% and a net margin of 4.76%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CDW will post 9.41 EPS for the current year.

CDW Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 25th were issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 25th. This is an increase from CDW’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. CDW’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.82%.

CDW Company Profile

CDW (NASDAQ: CDW) is a leading provider of information technology products and integrated solutions for business, government, education and healthcare customers. The company sources and resells hardware and software from major technology vendors and packages those products with professional services, managed services and lifecycle support. Its offerings span IT infrastructure, cloud and data center solutions, cybersecurity, networking, unified communications, endpoint devices, and software licensing and procurement services designed to simplify IT operations for customers.

CDW combines a broad product portfolio with consultative sales, implementation and technical support capabilities.