Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $134 Million Stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 10.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,742,492 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 210,107 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.35% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $133,998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,028,485 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $4,539,290,000 after purchasing an additional 515,881 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,928,405,000 after purchasing an additional 867,176 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,437,687 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,032,239,000 after buying an additional 157,464 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $527,719,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 54.6% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,633,987 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $433,254,000 after buying an additional 1,990,515 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CTSH. Barclays upped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on 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. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.56.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 6.2 %

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $68.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.03. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12-month low of $63.79 and a 12-month high of $90.82. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $82.21 and a 200-day moving average of $79.38. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.49%.

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.