Spire Wealth Management Raises Stock Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 11,242.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 54,103 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 53,626 shares during the quarter. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $4,139,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $214,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 85.4% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 621 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 136.8% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 7,504 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 4,335 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,846 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $153,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of CTSH opened at $76.98 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.91. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market capitalization of $37.95 billion, a PE ratio of 16.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.98. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 52-week low of $65.52 and a 52-week high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 16.73%. The business’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on CTSH shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Susquehanna raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $77.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.00.

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.