American Century Companies, Inc. increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTSH – Free Report) by 39.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The company now owns 819,805 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 232,768 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were valued at $55,534,000 as of its latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares in the company. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 60,098,017 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $3,923,199,000 after acquiring an additional 2,163,022 shares during the period. State Street Corporation increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp. now owns 22,415,954 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,365,793,000 after acquiring an additional 473,809 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,663,814 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,196,547,000 after acquiring an additional 4,365,493 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 16.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,343,662 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $738,821,000 after acquiring an additional 1,633,309 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,056,248 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $544,942,000 after acquiring an additional 231,782 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.77% of the company's stock.
Insider buying and selling
In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were 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 will now directly own 8,312 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $640,522.72. The sale was disclosed in his SEC filing, available at this link. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Price performance of Cognizant technology solutions
CTSH stock opened Friday at $75.33. The company's 50-day moving average price is $77.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.32. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 52-week low of $56.59 and a 52-week high of $80.09. The company has a market capitalization of $37.5 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.94x, a PEG ratio of 1.75x, and a beta of 1.07x. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.25, and a current ratio of 2.25.
Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH – Get Free Report) last issued its financial results on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.14. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net profit 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 analyst expectations of $4.76 billion. The business' earnings per share in the same period last year was $1.01. Revenue from this business decreased by 1.7% compared to the same period last year. Equities research analysts expect Cognizant Technology Solutions to post EPS of $4.6 for the current quarter.
Cognizant Technology Solutions increases dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued his $0.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions' previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This equates to his $1.20 dividend and 1.59% yield on an annualized basis. The ex-dividend date for this dividend was February 16th (Friday). Cognizant Technology Solutions' dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.
Analyst rating changes
A number of brokerage firms have recently published reports on CTSH. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Wedbush increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 26th. Mizuho began coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They gave the stock a “neutral” rating and set a price target of $82.00. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have rated it a hold, and five have rated it a buy. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.43, according to data from MarketBeat.com.
Check out our latest analysis for CTSH
Cognizant Technology Solutions Company Profile
(Free report)
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation is a professional services company providing consulting and technology and outsourcing services in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Financial Services, Health Sciences, Products & Resources, Communications, and Media & Technology.
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Curious if other hedge funds own CTSH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider transactions for Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH – Free Report).
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