Q3 Asset Management Invests $225,000 in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Q3 Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,952 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $103.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 1.8%

NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $75.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $37.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $79.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.80. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 52 week low of $65.52 and a 52 week high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 11.73%. The company’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program 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 reacquire up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.65%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.11%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions 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.