Blue Trust Inc. Buys 1,008 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 24.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,179 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Addison Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 447 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $82.61 on Friday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $63.79 and a 52 week high of $83.47. The stock has a market cap of $40.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.28, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $79.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.18. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.10. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.12.

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.