National Bank of Canada FI Has $433.25 Million Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 54.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,633,987 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,990,515 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned 1.14% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $433,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CTSH. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $527,719,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,928,405,000 after purchasing an additional 867,176 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 34.0% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,784,668 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $214,141,000 after purchasing an additional 705,946 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,028,485 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $4,539,290,000 after purchasing an additional 515,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,921,900 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $224,694,000 after purchasing an additional 443,536 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Mizuho upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target 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. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on 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 Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $76.50 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market cap of $37.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $82.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.51. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year high of $90.82.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 27.49%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, March 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.