Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Has $1.14 Million Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 15,031 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 617 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $1,135,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 773 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 136,769 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $9,265,000 after acquiring an additional 20,100 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 4,076 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.2% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,711 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 46.9% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 88,270 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $5,979,000 after acquiring an additional 28,194 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CTSH shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Guggenheim initiated coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.13.

Insider Transactions at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total transaction of $69,354.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,312 shares in the company, valued at $640,522.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:CTSH traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $66.94. The stock had a trading volume of 2,818,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,280,442. The stock has a market cap of $33.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.94, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.06. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $58.47 and a fifty-two week high of $80.09. The business’s 50 day moving average is $73.52 and its 200 day moving average is $72.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 2.25.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.76 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 10.98%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

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.