Van ECK Associates Corp Increases Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 175,029 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,349 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $13,459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 447 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 74.7% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 477 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CTSH. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $400,550.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $90.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year high of $90.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s fifty day moving average is $80.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.11.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. Analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 26.61%.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

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.