Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Purchases 740 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,530 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 740 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $2,986,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CTSH. Leuthold Group LLC raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. Leuthold Group LLC now owns 7,407 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 2,579 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 79.1% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 437 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,769,110 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $354,822,000 after acquiring an additional 401,076 shares during the period. VeraBank N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 6,490 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $490,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $224,000. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total transaction of $69,354.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $640,522.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH traded up $1.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $67.66. 3,038,696 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,327,235. The company has a market capitalization of $33.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.08. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12 month low of $60.26 and a 12 month high of $80.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.55.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The information technology service provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.01. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.48% and a net margin of 10.84%. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.67.

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.