Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Purchased by Grandfield & Dodd LLC

Grandfield & Dodd LLC raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 183,371 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $14,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 78.5% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 32,144 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $2,472,000 after purchasing an additional 14,139 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 3,021 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 71.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,014 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 2,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CTSH. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of 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. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.67.

Insider Transactions at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 0.8 %

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $83.35 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.48, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $90.82. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.01.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. 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 yield of 1.49%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions 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.