Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Stock Position Raised by Perpetual Ltd

Perpetual Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 238,910 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,466 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $17,510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CTSH. Vision Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.4% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 3,756 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 43.2% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 590 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 7,376 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,077 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CTSH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $68.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The company has a market cap of $33.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.04. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $61.23 and a fifty-two week high of $80.09. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.44.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 28.85%.

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.