Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Stake Increased by Foster & Motley Inc.

Foster & Motley Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 32.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,571 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,278 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $3,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 8.5% in the third quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,420 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Alhambra Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Alhambra Investment Partners LLC now owns 13,663 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 41,608 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $2,737,000 after buying an additional 4,540 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 773 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 136,769 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $9,265,000 after buying an additional 20,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total transaction of $69,354.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $640,522.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CTSH. Guggenheim began coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Susquehanna restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (down previously from $87.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Monday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.44.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $68.32 on Tuesday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a twelve month low of $58.09 and a twelve month high of $80.09. The firm has a market cap of $34.01 billion, a PE ratio of 16.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a current ratio of 2.25. The business has a fifty day moving average of $74.28 and a 200-day moving average of $72.58.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.76 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 10.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.57%.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation, a professional services company, provides consulting and technology, and outsourcing services in North America, Europe, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Financial Services, Health Sciences, Products and Resources, and Communications, Media and Technology.