Saudi Central Bank Boosts Stock Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH

Saudi Central Bank boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 87.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 33,477 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,662 shares during the quarter. Saudi Central Bank’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $1,297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Evolve Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $2,642,000. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the first quarter worth about $29,510,000. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the second quarter worth about $2,929,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.9% in the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 20,262,362 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,243,096,000 after acquiring an additional 2,633,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,874,274 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $238,565,000 after acquiring an additional 734,337 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 3.8%

NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $59.92 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.83. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 52 week low of $37.08 and a 52 week high of $87.03. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $53.39 and a 200 day moving average of $54.93.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.01). Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.26% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The company had revenue of $5.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Cognizant Technology Solutions has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.700-5.820 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th were issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 28.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on CTSH. Truist Financial started coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Monday, June 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $66.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “negative” rating and issued a $51.00 target price (up from $44.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wedbush upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $56.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Susquehanna set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.00.

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.