Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Acquired by Sandy Cove Advisors LLC

Sandy Cove Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,336 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CTSH. Addison Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 447 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CTSH. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.19.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of CTSH opened at $77.81 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $78.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.07. 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 $82.46.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 26.55%.

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.