Trust Point Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Trust Point Inc. lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 17.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,443 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the quarter. Trust Point Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% during 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 last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 74.7% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 477 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CTSH. Robert W. Baird increased 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.22.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of CTSH opened at $87.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $79.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $87.61.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. Equities analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $400,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,126,052.42. The trade was a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.