Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Has $21.05 Million Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 275,450 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,315 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $21,047,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter worth about $161,000. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 44,423 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $3,429,000 after buying an additional 3,518 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.8% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,972 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.5% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 55,502 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $4,284,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 11,169 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $862,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at $3,126,052.42. The trade was a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 1.3 %

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $90.70 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $63.79 and a 1-year high of $90.82. The company has a market cap of $44.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.07.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. Research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.67.

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.