Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Increases Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,179,834 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after purchasing an additional 148,893 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 0.64% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $244,529,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CTSH. Allianz SE acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $184,000. Intrust Bank NA lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 7,205 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $554,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. Allstate Corp bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $1,149,000. DnB Asset Management AS increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 94,863 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $7,295,000 after acquiring an additional 5,785 shares during the period. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 34,023 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $2,616,000 after buying an additional 2,503 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CTSH. Mizuho raised Cognizant Technology Solutions to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. StockNews.com raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $84.56.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 3.8 %

CTSH traded down $2.88 on Thursday, hitting $73.85. The company had a trading volume of 991,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,541,839. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $63.79 and a 52-week high of $90.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.49.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) 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 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 analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is 27.49%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 25th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology service provider to buy up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions 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.