Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Raises Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,859 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 204 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $2,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter worth about $527,719,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 66,128 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $5,085,000 after purchasing an additional 13,279 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 104,466 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $8,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,655 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 826,300 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $63,113,000 after purchasing an additional 62,437 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.56.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of CTSH opened at $76.45 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $82.62 and its 200 day moving average is $79.51. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12-month low of $63.79 and a 12-month high of $90.82. The company has a market capitalization of $37.81 billion, a PE ratio of 16.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. Research analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 27.49%.

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.