ING Groep NV Raises Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

ING Groep NV grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 17.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,921,900 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 443,536 shares during the quarter. Cognizant Technology Solutions accounts for 1.5% of ING Groep NV’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. ING Groep NV owned about 0.59% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $224,694,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Addison Advisors LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 74.7% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 477 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CTSH shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target 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. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 0.4 %

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $88.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $43.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $63.79 and a 52 week high of $90.82. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $80.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.42. 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 posted 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current 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 given 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 yield of 1.40%. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.