Ritholtz Wealth Management Acquires 1,827 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 21.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,531 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,827 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $806,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Unison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 29,595 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $2,276,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 24,965 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,920,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,884 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,153 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $704,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CTSH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $88.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Susquehanna raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $77.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Fourteen 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $79.14 on Thursday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a twelve month low of $65.52 and a twelve month high of $90.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.98.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 16.73%. The company had revenue of $5.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.11%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology service provider to purchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions 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.