20,917 Shares in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Bought by Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC

Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 20,917 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,609,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter worth about $527,719,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 54.6% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,633,987 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $433,254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,990,515 shares during the last quarter. AE Industrial Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $113,088,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 98.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,742,442 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $210,894,000 after buying an additional 1,363,570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.8% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,303,355 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $254,028,000 after buying an additional 1,068,420 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $103.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Fourteen 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 presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of CTSH opened at $79.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $75.10 and its 200-day moving average is $79.00. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12-month low of $63.79 and a 12-month high of $90.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.93.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.12 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.11%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information technology service provider to buy up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership 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.