Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Purchased by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 4.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 40,589 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,796 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $2,975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vision Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vision Capital Management Inc. now owns 38,612 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $2,916,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 3,756 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 29,226 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $2,142,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 43.2% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 590 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 7,376 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of CTSH stock traded down $0.49 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $67.81. 364,831 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,085,480. The firm has a market cap of $33.72 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $62.14 and a 1 year high of $80.09. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $67.18 and a 200 day moving average of $72.18.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The information technology service provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.72 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 17.48%. The company’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. Analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 28.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CTSH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.44.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company 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.