Carret Asset Management LLC Makes New $218,000 Investment in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Carret Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,885 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vision Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vision Capital Management Inc. now owns 38,612 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $2,916,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 3,756 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 26.5% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 773 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.4% during the third quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,241 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 43.2% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 590 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock traded down $1.04 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $66.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,050,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,267,820. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $58.09 and a 1-year high of $80.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 2.25. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $73.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.55. The company has a market cap of $33.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.76 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.98% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 28.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CTSH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Wolfe Research raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Societe Generale reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.44.

Insider Transactions at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In related news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total transaction of $69,354.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $640,522.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.