Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Bought by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,869 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $1,902,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $527,719,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 54.6% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 1,990,515 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2,585.0% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,776,601 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $135,910,000 after acquiring an additional 1,710,433 shares in the last quarter. AE Industrial Partners LP acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $113,088,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 98.9% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 1,363,570 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CTSH shares. Guggenheim raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Susquehanna upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities upped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.18.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ CTSH opened at $76.67 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $78.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.72. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 52 week low of $65.52 and a 52 week high of $90.82. The stock has a market cap of $37.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 11.73%. The firm had revenue of $5.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.11%.

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.