Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Stock Holdings Increased by IFG Advisory LLC

IFG Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 45.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 67,119 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,874 shares during the quarter. IFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $5,070,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 4,359 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Vision Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vision Capital Management Inc. now owns 38,612 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $2,916,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 14,014 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,058,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 59,368 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $4,484,000 after acquiring an additional 5,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $122,000. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CTSH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Guggenheim started coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 value of $69,354.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $640,522.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $73.62 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.42. The company has a market cap of $36.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.53, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $58.09 and a 1 year high of $80.09.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.76 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 10.98%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

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 given a $0.30 dividend. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.57%.

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.