Summit Global Investments Invests $1.02 Million in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Summit Global Investments purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 13,145 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,015,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CTSH. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 60,291 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $4,629,000 after purchasing an additional 7,547 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 665,305 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $51,348,000 after buying an additional 31,758 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 9.0% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,661 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.5% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,961 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 753 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 10.9% in the third quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 60,150 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $4,642,000 after acquiring an additional 5,905 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTSH has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Daiwa America raised Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.83.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ CTSH opened at $80.31 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $39.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.77, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $76.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.36. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $63.79 and a 1 year high of $81.75.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced 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. 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 in the prior year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 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.