Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,959,605 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 151,977 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.60% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $227,594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,028,485 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $4,539,290,000 after buying an additional 515,881 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 867,176 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 173,667 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter worth $527,719,000. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,406,513 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $261,996,000 after purchasing an additional 336,870 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho raised Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.56.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $76.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.51. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $63.79 and a 52 week high of $90.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.95, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. On average, analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, March 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology service provider to purchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.49%.

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.