Prana Capital Management LP Boosts Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Prana Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 1,073.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 105,037 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 96,089 shares during the quarter. Prana Capital Management LP’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $8,107,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CTSH. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the second quarter worth $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on CTSH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Daiwa America raised Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.47.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $79.98 on Wednesday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $63.79 and a 52-week high of $82.41. The stock has a market cap of $39.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.69, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a fifty day moving average of $77.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.93. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 26.55%.

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.