Machina Capital S.A.S. Buys New Stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH

Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 17,574 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,009,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,510,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 289.6% during the 3rd quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 2,905,584 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $166,897,000 after acquiring an additional 2,159,704 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth $2,929,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 246.5% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 160,866 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $9,240,000 after acquiring an additional 114,435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 752.1% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,317,166 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $80,808,000 after acquiring an additional 1,162,580 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on CTSH. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up from $65.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Monday, October 19th. Needham & Company LLC set a $78.00 target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $68.00 price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.17.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 1.1%

CTSH stock opened at $63.75 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $62.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.40. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 12 month low of $37.08 and a 12 month high of $87.03. The company has a market cap of $28.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 2.22.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.75% and a return on equity of 17.72%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.39 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 5.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 24.09%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Profile

Cognizant Technology Solutions is a professional services company that helps businesses use technology to modernize operations and develop digital capabilities. Its services include IT consulting, application development and maintenance, cloud and infrastructure services, data and artificial intelligence, engineering, and business process services. The company serves clients across industries including financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, communications, media, and retail. Its operations span North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, with a significant global delivery network.