International Asset Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTSH – Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its latest filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company bought 23,641 shares of the information technology services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,786,000.
Several other institutional investors have also increased or decreased their stakes in CTSH. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $374,413,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 84.6% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,148,963 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $801,166,000 after purchasing an additional 6,027,057 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 53.4% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,551,475 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $231,107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236,165 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at $53,176,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management SA grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 110.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management SA now owns 1,344,587 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $91,082,000 after purchasing an additional 704,932 shares during the period. Currently, 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst rating changes
A number of equity analysts have commented on CTSH stock recently. Guggenheim began coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They gave the company a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price target. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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. Wedbush raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 26th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions at $80.00 (down from $87.00) in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have rated it with a hold rating and five have rated the stock with a buy rating. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.94, according to data from MarketBeat.com.
Get the latest stock reports on CTSH
Insider buying and selling
In related news, EVP Katherine Diaz sold 900 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total value of $69,354.00. Following the closing, the executive vice president will now own 8,312 shares of the company's stock, valued at $640,522.72. The transaction was disclosed in her SEC filing, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Cognizant Technology Solutions trades up 0.5%
Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock began trading at $67.44 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.06x, a PEG ratio of 1.53x, and a beta of 1.06x. His 50 day moving average price for this company is $74.45 and his 200 day moving average price is $72.54. The company has a quick ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 2.25, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions stock has had a 12-month low of $58.09 and a 12-month high of $80.09.
Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst expectations of $4.76 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net profit margin of 10.98%. Quarterly sales for this business were down 1.7% year-on-year. In the same period last year, the company posted earnings of $1.01 per share. Equities research analysts expect Cognizant Technology Solutions to post EPS of $4.59 for the current quarter.
Cognizant Technology Solutions increases dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. He was awarded a $0.30 dividend to investors of record as of Tuesday, February 20th. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This equates to an annualized dividend of $1.20 and a yield of 1.78%. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions' previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Cognizant Technology Solutions' dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.57%.
About Cognizant Technology Solutions
(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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