DnB Asset Management AS Has $7.30 Million Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

DnB Asset Management AS grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 94,863 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after buying an additional 5,785 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS's holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $7,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $527,719,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $1,928,405,000 after buying an additional 867,176 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,784,668 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $214,141,000 after purchasing an additional 705,946 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,028,485 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $4,539,290,000 after buying an additional 515,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,921,900 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $224,694,000 after buying an additional 443,536 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $84.56.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH traded down $2.37 during trading on Thursday, hitting $74.36. 1,715,303 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,544,799. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $63.79 and a 1 year high of $90.82. The company has a market cap of $36.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $82.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.49%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology service provider to reacquire up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership 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.