Rhumbline Advisers Purchases 15,601 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 1.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,097,594 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,601 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $83,966,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 74.7% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 477 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $80.27 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $39.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.80, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $75.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.97. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $63.79 and a twelve month high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 25th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology service provider to buy up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 26.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on CTSH. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays reduced their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $103.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. TD Securities upped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group cut 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, March 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased 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. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.00.

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.