Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 173,667 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,280,223 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after buying an additional 173,667 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.68% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $1,022,728,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $1,928,405,000 after acquiring an additional 867,176 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% during the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 18,609,898 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $1,265,473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943,127 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,565,974 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $378,483,000 after purchasing an additional 94,209 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,340,480 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $363,153,000 after purchasing an additional 142,225 shares during the period. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.4% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 4,844,882 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $329,452,000 after buying an additional 67,017 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH traded down $0.88 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $80.37. The stock had a trading volume of 1,869,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,756,703. The firm has a market cap of $39.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.06. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $82.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $78.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.39.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is 26.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CTSH shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $76.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Daiwa America raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $400,550.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

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.