Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Buys 875 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 56.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,412 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter worth $1,972,000. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 60,291 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $4,629,000 after buying an additional 7,547 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 101,420 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $7,828,000 after purchasing an additional 11,349 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 119,570 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $9,228,000 after purchasing an additional 6,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 135.4% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 33,305 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $2,441,000 after purchasing an additional 19,157 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $81.06 on Wednesday. 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 1 year low of $63.79 and a 1 year high of $82.41. The company has a market cap of $40.19 billion, a PE ratio of 17.93, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50-day moving average is $77.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.51.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $76.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.47.

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.