Townsquare Capital LLC Grows Stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,701 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,324 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $1,598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 19,850.5% during the second quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 3,016,114 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $205,096,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000,996 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $1,265,473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943,127 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 152.8% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,120,012 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $146,132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281,236 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 276.9% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,588,528 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $122,603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167,033 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 61.5% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,478,364 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $191,280,000 after buying an additional 943,372 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

CTSH stock opened at $80.49 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $39.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.81, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a twelve month low of $63.79 and a twelve month high of $82.41. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.78.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.49%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on CTSH. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target 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 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen increased their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.47.

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.