First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Has $1.51 Million Stock Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 19.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,571 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,139 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $1,510,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $74.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.46. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $62.14 and a one year high of $80.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.99, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $76.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.94.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.11. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 11.39%. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total value of $495,584.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 46,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,419,812.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTSH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Daiwa America raised Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.60.

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.