Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Stock Holdings Increased by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 152.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,120,012 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,281,236 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.43% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $146,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the second quarter worth $25,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in 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 worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTSH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $73.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.44.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.6 %

CTSH stock opened at $76.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $37.85 billion, a PE ratio of 18.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12 month low of $62.14 and a 12 month high of $80.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.46. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.34.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total value of $495,584.48. Following the completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.