Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Acquires 875 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 56.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,412 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CTSH. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 19,850.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 3,016,114 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $205,096,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000,996 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 18,609,898 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,265,473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943,127 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 152.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,120,012 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $146,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,236 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 276.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,588,528 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $122,603,000 after buying an additional 1,167,033 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 61.5% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,478,364 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $191,280,000 after buying an additional 943,372 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of CTSH opened at $81.06 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $77.13 and a 200-day moving average of $73.51. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $63.79 and a 52 week high of $82.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.08%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on CTSH. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Daiwa America raised Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.47.

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.