Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Boosts Stock Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 8.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 46,134 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,647 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $3,561,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Choate Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.4% in the first quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 48,552 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $3,558,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.8% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 11,169 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $862,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Personal Financial Services lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.6% in the second quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 34,893 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $2,373,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on CTSH shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. StockNews.com cut Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.70.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 46,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,419,812.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.0 %

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $74.61 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a twelve month low of $62.14 and a twelve month high of $80.27.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.37% and a net margin of 11.60%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.55%.

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.