Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Bought by Graypoint LLC

Graypoint LLC increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,276 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,111,915 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $3,860,483,000 after buying an additional 7,445,089 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 532,677 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $39,242,000 after acquiring an additional 38,526 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 3,523 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 16,795 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,231,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,786,000. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CTSH. Bank of America raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Barclays upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.61.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total transaction of $495,584.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 46,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,419,812.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of CTSH opened at $77.77 on Tuesday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12 month low of $62.14 and a 12 month high of $80.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $73.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.53. The company has a market cap of $38.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.69, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.05.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The information technology service provider reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.80 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.85%.

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.