Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Grows Stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 12.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 101,420 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,349 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $7,828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,972,000. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 60,291 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $4,629,000 after purchasing an additional 7,547 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 119,570 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $9,228,000 after purchasing an additional 6,626 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 135.4% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 33,305 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $2,441,000 after purchasing an additional 19,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 907,902 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $70,072,000 after purchasing an additional 124,740 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on CTSH shares. Bank of America raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Daiwa America raised Cognizant Technology Solutions to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.47.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock traded up $0.43 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $81.06. The company had a trading volume of 2,828,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,833,563. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $77.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $63.79 and a 52 week high of $82.41.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.10. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.99 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders 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 1.48%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.55%.

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.