Kestra Investment Management LLC Purchases New Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 636 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $49,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CTSH. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 8.6% in the third 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 last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 13.9% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 248,135 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $19,151,000 after buying an additional 30,370 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.1% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,527 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $658,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.9% in the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,326 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

CTSH opened at $84.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $42.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.81, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $63.79 and a 1-year high of $90.82. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.57. 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 posted 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 net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. Equities analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. 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 report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to 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.