Spire Wealth Management Boosts Stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 11,242.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,103 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 53,626 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $4,139,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CTSH. Unison Advisors LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 29,595 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $2,276,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 24,965 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,920,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,884 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,153 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $76.98 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $77.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.91. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $65.52 and a fifty-two week high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced 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. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 16.73%. The firm had revenue of $5.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology service provider to reacquire up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTSH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.00.

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.