Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Bought by CoreCap Advisors LLC

CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 21.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 711 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $55,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,028,485 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $4,539,290,000 after buying an additional 515,881 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,437,687 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,032,239,000 after purchasing an additional 157,464 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,147,006 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $857,205,000 after purchasing an additional 123,745 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,655,180 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $819,383,000 after purchasing an additional 287,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth approximately $527,719,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $92.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.87.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $80.36 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.75 billion, a PE ratio of 17.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.73. 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 twelve month low of $63.79 and a twelve month high of $90.82.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its board has initiated a stock 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 purchase 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.