Lake Street Advisors Group LLC Purchases 200 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,838 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Addison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised 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 buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $83.99 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12-month low of $63.79 and a 12-month high of $90.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $81.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.87.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

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 value 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. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.67.

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.