New York Life Investment Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 73,672 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $5,665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its position in 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 447 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 74.7% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 477 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This trade represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays upped 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

CTSH stock opened at $83.35 on Friday. 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 $41.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.48, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $81.55 and a 200 day moving average of $78.95. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders 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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.49%.

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.