Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Buys 7,400 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 170,420 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,400 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $13,105,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 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 worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 74.7% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 477 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

CTSH stock opened at $84.82 on Monday. 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 $41.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.81, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $81.11 and a 200 day moving average of $78.65. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on CTSH. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $400,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at $3,126,052.42. The trade was a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.