Twin Capital Management Inc. Increases Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Twin Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 35,271 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,533 shares during the period. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $2,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 74.7% during 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. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CTSH shares. Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Wednesday, March 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.56.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ CTSH opened at $68.74 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $82.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.43. The firm has a market cap of $34.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.03. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a twelve month low of $63.79 and a twelve month high of $90.82. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 1.80%. 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%.

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.

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.