Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,078,205 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,189 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $232,497,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CTSH. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 79.1% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 437 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 43.2% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 590 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,000. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total transaction of $69,354.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $640,522.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ CTSH opened at $67.72 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $71.82 and a 200 day moving average of $72.57. The company has a market capitalization of $33.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.08. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $60.26 and a one year high of $80.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The information technology service provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.72 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.48% and a net margin of 10.84%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 28.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on CTSH shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Barclays dropped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.67.

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.