Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Purchased by Headlands Technologies LLC

Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 55.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,837 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after buying an additional 13,447 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC's holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $2,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 24,965 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $1,920,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,884 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,795 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,153 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $704,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sandy Cove Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 4,336 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target 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. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $84.56.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock traded down $3.46 during trading on Thursday, hitting $73.27. 3,835,403 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,552,764. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.49. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $63.79 and a 52-week high of $90.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.25, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is 27.49%.

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