Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Invests $56,000 in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 734 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $56,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CTSH. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.5% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,187,850 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $91,678,000 after purchasing an additional 40,226 shares during the period. CGN Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,294,000. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 50.7% during the 4th quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 429,660 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $33,041,000 after buying an additional 144,535 shares in the last quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 436,509 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $33,568,000 after buying an additional 85,539 shares during the period. Finally, Matthews International Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 52.0% in the fourth quarter. Matthews International Capital Management LLC now owns 50,108 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $3,853,000 after acquiring an additional 17,134 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CTSH shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $93.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.56.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $75.90 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $82.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.51. The stock has a market cap of $37.54 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $63.79 and a 52-week high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. Equities research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, March 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology service provider to buy up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

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.