IFM Investors Pty Ltd Increases Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 0.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 97,269 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $7,507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the second quarter valued at $25,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its position in 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 worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total value of $495,584.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 46,427 shares in the company, valued at $3,419,812.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on CTSH shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.58.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ CTSH opened at $74.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $62.14 and a 1-year high of $80.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.46. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.79.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.80 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 11.39%. The company’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.