Capital Analysts LLC Buys 248 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Capital Analysts LLC grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 20.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,447 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the quarter. Capital Analysts LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $527,719,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 54.6% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,633,987 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $433,254,000 after acquiring an additional 1,990,515 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 98.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,742,442 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $210,894,000 after acquiring an additional 1,363,570 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,784,668 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $214,141,000 after acquiring an additional 705,946 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,028,485 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $4,539,290,000 after acquiring an additional 515,881 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

CTSH stock opened at $72.58 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $76.60 and a 200-day moving average of $78.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12 month low of $63.79 and a 12 month high of $90.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.03.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.49%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

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.