Cidel Asset Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Cidel Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,338 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 182 shares during the quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CTSH. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,928,405,000 after purchasing an additional 867,176 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,280,223 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,022,728,000 after acquiring an additional 173,667 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,244,731 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $250,428,000 after acquiring an additional 44,129 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,784,668 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $214,141,000 after purchasing an additional 705,946 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 29.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,748,982 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $211,369,000 after purchasing an additional 628,970 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.22.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $86.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $63.79 and a 52-week high of $87.61. The firm has a market cap of $42.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50 day moving average is $79.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.59.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 26.61%.

Insider Transactions at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $400,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.