16,831 Shares in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Purchased by CGN Advisors LLC

CGN Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 16,831 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,294,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CTSH. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $77.81 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.46. The company has a market cap of $38.58 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year high of $82.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.08%. The company’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CTSH. Mizuho increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $95.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.19.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company 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.