Handelsbanken Fonder AB Grows Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 148,121 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,390 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $11,331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Unison Advisors LLC raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 29,595 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $2,276,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 24,965 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,920,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,884 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,153 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $704,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on CTSH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $77.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $80.46 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $39.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.84, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.98. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $63.79 and a 52 week high of $90.82. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $76.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.07. 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 (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology service provider to purchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

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

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.