Farringdon Capital Ltd. Purchases New Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Farringdon Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,209 shares of the information technology service provider's stock, valued at approximately $401,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CTSH. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter worth about $527,719,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 54.6% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,633,987 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $433,254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,990,515 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 34.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in 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 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,921,900 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $224,694,000 after acquiring an additional 443,536 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on CTSH. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $93.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays lifted 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. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $84.53.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of CTSH stock traded up $1.44 on Wednesday, reaching $71.17. The company had a trading volume of 1,191,437 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,585,524. The business's 50-day moving average is $78.02 and its 200 day moving average is $78.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.20 billion, a PE ratio of 15.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.03. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year high of $90.82. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. Equities research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. 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 1.74%. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is 27.49%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its Board of Directors has approved 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 repurchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

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.