Empowered Funds LLC Grows Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 24.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 449,902 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 87,151 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $27,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.9% in the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 20,262,362 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,243,096,000 after purchasing an additional 2,633,683 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,534,198 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $840,669,000 after buying an additional 987,395 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $690,959,000. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $673,651,000. Finally, FIL Ltd boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 46.6% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 6,680,508 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $554,482,000 after buying an additional 2,122,600 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $47.05 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $47.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 1 year low of $37.08 and a 1 year high of $87.03. The firm has a market cap of $22.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.23, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.87.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.41 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.50% and a net margin of 10.41%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.630-5.770 EPS. Analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 28.70%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, May 18th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTSH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $74.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Berenberg Bank set a $59.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Nomura lowered their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Monday, June 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $66.00 price objective on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.35.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Profile

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ: CTSH) is a global professional services company that provides information technology, consulting and business process services to large enterprises. Its core offerings include digital engineering, application development and maintenance, cloud migration and managed services, data analytics and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and industry-specific solutions. Cognizant works with clients to design and implement technology-enabled transformations that address customer experience, operational efficiency and new product and service delivery.

Founded in the 1990s and headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, Cognizant has grown into a multinational organization with delivery centers and operations across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.