Eads & Heald Wealth Management Buys 220 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Eads & Heald Wealth Management lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,952 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $1,381,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% during 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 last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 447 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.8 %

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $78.45 on Wednesday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a twelve month low of $63.79 and a twelve month high of $82.46. The business has a fifty day moving average of $78.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.64. The firm has a market cap of $38.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 26.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTSH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.19.

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.