Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Purchases Shares of 9,514 Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 9,514 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $734,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CTSH. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 19,850.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 3,016,114 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $205,096,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000,996 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% during the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 18,609,898 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,265,473,000 after buying an additional 1,943,127 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 152.8% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,120,012 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $146,132,000 after buying an additional 1,281,236 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,167,033 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 61.5% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,478,364 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $191,280,000 after acquiring 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 Down 0.4 %

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $80.75 on Friday. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $77.35 and its 200 day moving average is $73.61. The company has a market cap of $40.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.05.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. The company’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CTSH shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $76.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.47.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Profile

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.