Empirical Finance LLC Raises Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 38.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,408 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,808 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $1,877,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Graypoint LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,795 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 4,336 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,338 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 8,704 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $669,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CTSH shares. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.22.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $86.20 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year high of $87.61. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $79.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.62.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

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

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.