Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Bought by Boston Partners

Boston Partners raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,406,513 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 336,870 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned approximately 0.69% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $261,996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 447 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 74.7% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 477 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on CTSH shares. Barclays upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.50.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of CTSH opened at $79.58 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year high of $90.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $82.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.46.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 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 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

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.