Albion Financial Group UT Purchases 337 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Albion Financial Group UT lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,104 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $1,008,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CTSH. Addison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its stake 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 during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter worth about $37,000. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $400,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CTSH shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com cut Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.19.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $78.45 on Wednesday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $63.79 and a 52-week high of $82.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. The stock has a market cap of $38.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.36, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $78.79 and its 200-day moving average is $76.71.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.55%.

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.