Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Bought by BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 26.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 840,359 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 174,020 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $64,859,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 18,609,898 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,265,473,000 after buying an additional 1,943,127 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,781,273 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $569,175,000 after buying an additional 101,078 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,565,974 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $378,483,000 after buying an additional 94,209 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,340,480 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $363,153,000 after buying an additional 142,225 shares during the period. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 4,844,882 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $329,452,000 after buying an additional 67,017 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $78.71 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.41, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $76.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.15. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12-month low of $63.79 and a 12-month high of $82.41.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. The company’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.16 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 26.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CTSH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $76.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, September 12th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.47.

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.