Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 11,677 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 7.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 171,680 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after buying an additional 11,677 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $13,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CTSH. StockNews.com lowered Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Daiwa America raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.37.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of CTSH stock traded up $4.01 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $79.40. 4,132,006 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,827,041. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a twelve month low of $63.79 and a twelve month high of $80.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.36 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $76.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.