Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Acquired by Vident Advisory LLC

Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 450.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 61,864 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 50,635 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $4,758,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Unison Advisors LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 29,595 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $2,276,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 24,965 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,920,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,884 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,153 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $704,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on CTSH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho raised Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Susquehanna raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $80.99 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $75.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $39.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.96, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.93. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12-month low of $63.79 and a 12-month high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 26.11%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company 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.