New England Research & Management Inc. Invests $852,000 in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

New England Research & Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 11,626 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $852,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,111,915 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $3,860,483,000 after acquiring an additional 7,445,089 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,663,814 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,196,547,000 after acquiring an additional 4,365,493 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,433,474 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $410,406,000 after acquiring an additional 238,551 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $406,360,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,769,110 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $354,822,000 after acquiring an additional 401,076 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of CTSH opened at $68.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.81 billion, a PE ratio of 16.35, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.04. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12 month low of $62.14 and a 12 month high of $80.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $67.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The information technology service provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.72 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.48% and a net margin of 10.84%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays decreased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Guggenheim began coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Monday, June 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.44.

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.