Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Bought by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,970 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,223 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $7,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,111,915 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $3,860,483,000 after buying an additional 7,445,089 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 19,850.5% in the second quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 3,016,114 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $205,096,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000,996 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% in the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 18,609,898 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,265,473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943,127 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 152.8% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,120,012 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $146,132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281,236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 129.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,904,263 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $139,565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,666 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTSH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $76.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Bank of America raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $73.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.44.

Insider Transactions at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total value of $495,584.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 46,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,419,812.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $74.50 on Friday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $62.14 and a one year high of $80.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a current ratio of 2.46. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $75.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.05.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The information technology service provider reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The company had revenue of $4.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 28.85%.

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.