Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Makes New Investment in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 392 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $30,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its holdings in 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $862,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.6% in the second quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 34,893 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $2,373,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Linscomb Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.8% in the first quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 26,898 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,971,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One research 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 a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.83.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $80.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. The stock has a market cap of $40.05 billion, a PE ratio of 17.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s fifty day moving average is $76.74 and its 200-day moving average is $72.70. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $63.79 and a 1 year high of $82.41.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.08%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. 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.