Signaturefd LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,376 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vision Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Nilsine Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 3,756 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 26.5% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 773 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.4% during the third quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,241 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total transaction of $69,354.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Societe Generale restated a “sell” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.44.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $67.52 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $33.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50 day moving average is $73.94 and its 200 day moving average is $72.55. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a twelve month low of $58.09 and a twelve month high of $80.09. The company has a quick ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.76 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.98% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions 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.