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

Advisory Alpha LLC grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,442 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 353 shares during the quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 447 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $400,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This trade represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on CTSH. Barclays raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $80.00 to $95.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.19.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

CTSH stock opened at $79.68 on Friday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $63.79 and a 52-week high of $82.46. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.73. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.55%.

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.