Farther Finance Advisors LLC Acquires 271 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,443 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $343,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.4% in the first quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 48,552 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $3,558,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.8% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 11,169 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $862,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Personal Financial Services increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 34,893 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $2,373,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on CTSH shares. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $76.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.83.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $81.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $76.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12-month low of $63.79 and a 12-month high of $81.53.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.10. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

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.