Avanza Fonder AB Takes $2.93 Million Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 38,137 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,933,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 8,704 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $669,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $268,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 35,255 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $2,711,000 after acquiring an additional 2,532 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,681,530 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $129,310,000 after acquiring an additional 93,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $185,000. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This trade represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CTSH has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.19.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of CTSH opened at $77.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year high of $82.46. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.58 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.07.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.10. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.08%. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 26.55%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions 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.