Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Has $408,000 Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,304 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,972,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.5% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,187,850 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $91,678,000 after purchasing an additional 40,226 shares during the period. CGN Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,294,000. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 50.7% in the fourth quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 429,660 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $33,041,000 after buying an additional 144,535 shares during the period. Finally, Matthews International Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 52.0% during the fourth quarter. Matthews International Capital Management LLC now owns 50,108 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $3,853,000 after buying an additional 17,134 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of CTSH opened at $83.99 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $81.47 and a 200-day moving average of $78.87. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a twelve month low of $63.79 and a twelve month high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued 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 net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.