Strs Ohio Acquires 2,333 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Strs Ohio raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,823 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,333 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $5,122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 43.2% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 590 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 33.5% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 630 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 29.9% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 651 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CTSH. Wolfe Research upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Barclays increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim initiated coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.65.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $67.13 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $74.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.51. The company has a market cap of $33.42 billion, a PE ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.06. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $58.09 and a fifty-two week high of $80.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a current ratio of 2.25.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.14. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 10.98%. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.57%.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

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 transaction of $69,354.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $640,522.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.