Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Purchases 7,400 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 170,420 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,400 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $13,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,527 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $658,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,972,000. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 6,874 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 120,832 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $9,291,000 after buying an additional 21,592 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ CTSH traded down $0.16 on Thursday, hitting $83.99. 4,637,078 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,496,602. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The business's fifty day moving average is $81.38 and its 200 day moving average is $78.84. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $63.79 and a 52 week high of $90.82. The company has a market capitalization of $41.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.07.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. Research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $400,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at $3,126,052.42. The trade was a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on CTSH. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.67.

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.