Planned Solutions Inc. Invests $70,000 in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 930 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $70,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. Vision Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vision Capital Management Inc. now owns 38,612 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $2,916,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 29.9% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 651 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 33.5% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 630 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 26.5% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 773 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,241 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $73.62 on Thursday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12-month low of $58.09 and a 12-month high of $80.09. The company has a quick ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The business’s 50 day moving average is $76.93 and its 200-day moving average is $72.42. The stock has a market cap of $36.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.07.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.14. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.98% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total transaction of $69,354.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $640,522.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on CTSH. Wolfe Research raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $85.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.38.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company 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.