SP Asset Management LLC Has $3.60 Million Stock Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

SP Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 46,783 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 1,041 shares during the quarter. SP Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $3,598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Inceptionr LLC acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter worth about $1,409,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter worth about $27,114,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at about $10,059,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 585,627 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $45,035,000 after acquiring an additional 11,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 21,465 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,651,000 after acquiring an additional 3,837 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CTSH shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $84.29 on Thursday. 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 has a market capitalization of $41.69 billion, a PE ratio of 18.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year high of $90.82. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.16.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.49%.

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.