Huntington National Bank Has $564,000 Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,329 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 823 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $564,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CTSH. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,187,850 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $91,678,000 after purchasing an additional 40,226 shares during the period. CGN Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $1,294,000. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 50.7% during the fourth quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 429,660 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $33,041,000 after acquiring an additional 144,535 shares in the last quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 436,509 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $33,568,000 after acquiring an additional 85,539 shares during the period. Finally, Matthews International Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 52.0% in the 4th quarter. Matthews International Capital Management LLC now owns 50,108 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $3,853,000 after purchasing an additional 17,134 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 6.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $68.74 on Friday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $63.79 and a 52-week high of $90.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.09. The stock has a market cap of $34.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $82.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.38.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. Analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, March 25th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho raised Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.56.

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.