Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Purchased by Cibc World Markets Corp

Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,929,239 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,024 shares during the period. Cognizant Technology Solutions accounts for approximately 1.3% of Cibc World Markets Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Cibc World Markets Corp owned approximately 0.59% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $225,258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,928,405,000 after buying an additional 867,176 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,348,102 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $257,469,000 after purchasing an additional 103,371 shares during the period. ING Groep NV raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,921,900 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $224,694,000 after purchasing an additional 443,536 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,784,668 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $214,141,000 after purchasing an additional 705,946 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on CTSH. UBS Group raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price 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. StockNews.com upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.39.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of CTSH opened at $79.12 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $39.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.54, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $82.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12 month low of $63.79 and a 12 month high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

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.