Mirabella Financial Services LLP Takes $723,000 Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Mirabella Financial Services LLP purchased a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 9,400 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $723,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 447 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 74.7% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 477 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $69.44 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $34.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.86. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $63.79 and a 52 week high of $90.82. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. Equities research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, March 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology service provider to buy up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.44.

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.