Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Bought by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 142,731 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after buying an additional 11,921 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $10,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 867,176 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,280,223 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $1,022,728,000 after purchasing an additional 173,667 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,244,731 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $250,428,000 after buying an additional 44,129 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 705,946 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 29.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,748,982 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $211,369,000 after acquiring an additional 628,970 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. The trade was a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on CTSH. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $83.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 0.8 %

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock traded down $0.69 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $84.15. The company had a trading volume of 2,621,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,443,845. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12-month low of $63.79 and a 12-month high of $90.82. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $81.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.09.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

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.