Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 6,862,400 Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,862,400 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $527,719,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CTSH. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 25.1% in the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 66,128 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $5,085,000 after acquiring an additional 13,279 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 104,466 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $8,033,000 after acquiring an additional 1,655 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 826,300 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $63,113,000 after acquiring an additional 62,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter worth about $131,000. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Mizuho raised Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.56.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ CTSH opened at $75.90 on Friday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12 month low of $63.79 and a 12 month high of $90.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.54 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, March 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information technology service provider to reacquire up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

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.