Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC Acquires New Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 5,319 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $402,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,415,954 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,365,793,000 after buying an additional 473,809 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,663,814 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,196,547,000 after purchasing an additional 4,365,493 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,710,353 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $590,394,000 after purchasing an additional 93,518 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,056,248 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $544,942,000 after purchasing an additional 231,782 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Macquarie Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 7,461,555 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $454,633,000 after purchasing an additional 424,988 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

CTSH opened at $70.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 2.25. The company has a market capitalization of $35.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $75.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.52. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $58.09 and a 1 year high of $80.09.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.76 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.98% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 28.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CTSH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total value of $69,354.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $640,522.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.