41,372 Shares in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Acquired by Postrock Partners LLC

Postrock Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 41,372 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,182,000. Cognizant Technology Solutions makes up about 1.5% of Postrock Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,928,405,000 after acquiring an additional 867,176 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,280,223 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,022,728,000 after purchasing an additional 173,667 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,348,102 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $257,469,000 after purchasing an additional 103,371 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,921,900 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $224,694,000 after buying an additional 443,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,784,668 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $214,141,000 after buying an additional 705,946 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 1.5 %

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $78.34 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $82.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.37. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $63.79 and a 1-year high of $90.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on CTSH shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.39.

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.