Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Stake Increased by Todd Asset Management LLC

Todd Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 24.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 436,509 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 85,539 shares during the quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $33,568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Graypoint LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,795 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 4,336 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,338 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 8,704 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $669,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,617 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

CTSH opened at $84.55 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $81.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.73. 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 52 week low of $63.79 and a 52 week high of $90.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.82 billion, a PE ratio of 18.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,126,052.42. The trade was a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.67.

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.