AE Wealth Management LLC Acquires 1,085 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

AE Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 9.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,768 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,085 shares during the quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,111,915 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $3,860,483,000 after acquiring an additional 7,445,089 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 19,850.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 3,016,114 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $205,096,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000,996 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 18,609,898 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,265,473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943,127 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1,861.7% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 1,686,597 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $127,389,000 after buying an additional 1,600,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2,083.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,422,912 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $107,473,000 after buying an additional 1,357,755 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total transaction of $495,584.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 46,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,419,812.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of CTSH opened at $75.53 on Thursday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $62.14 and a 52 week high of $80.27. The firm has a market cap of $37.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a current ratio of 2.46.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The information technology service provider reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The firm had revenue of $4.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 28.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CTSH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $76.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.44.

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.