Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Acquires 3,174 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 36.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,967 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,174 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $904,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vision Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vision Capital Management Inc. now owns 38,612 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $2,916,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Nilsine Partners LLC increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 3,756 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 773 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,241 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 43.2% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 590 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $85.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of 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, Societe Generale reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Friday, January 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.13.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $66.94 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $58.47 and a 1 year high of $80.09. The company has a market cap of $33.33 billion, a PE ratio of 15.94, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50-day moving average is $73.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.50.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.14. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.98% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Profile

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.