ProShare Advisors LLC Purchases 93,681 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 19.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 581,405 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 93,681 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.12% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $42,611,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CTSH. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.6% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,702 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $418,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 47,359 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $3,471,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 158,125.0% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 6,329 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $464,000 after purchasing an additional 6,325 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 204,194 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $14,965,000 after purchasing an additional 3,070 shares during the period. Finally, Delta Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,506 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,430,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 1.3 %

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock traded up $0.94 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $74.73. The company had a trading volume of 2,160,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,064,085. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $67.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.83. The firm has a market cap of $37.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12-month low of $62.14 and a 12-month high of $80.09.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The information technology service provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CTSH shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target 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. Barclays dropped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.44.

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.