Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Position Increased by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 14.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 418,702 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 54,453 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned about 0.08% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $32,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CTSH. Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,338 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 197.1% during the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 68,890 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $5,296,000 after purchasing an additional 45,700 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 62,743 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $4,825,000 after buying an additional 7,241 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,366,972 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $105,120,000 after buying an additional 18,017 shares during the period. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 69,784 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $5,366,000 after buying an additional 4,340 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CTSH shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.22.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $86.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year high of $87.61. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $79.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.07.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.08%. As a group, analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.49%.

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.