Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Grows Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 48,806 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,873 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $3,686,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CTSH. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 43.2% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 590 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 773 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In related news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total value of $69,354.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $640,522.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 1.1 %

CTSH opened at $68.20 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $74.28 and a 200 day moving average of $72.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12 month low of $58.09 and a 12 month high of $80.09. The firm has a market cap of $33.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.14. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 10.98%. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CTSH shares. Wolfe Research upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.44.

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.