Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 3,489 Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,489 shares of the information technology service provider's stock, valued at approximately $268,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the second quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ CTSH traded up $0.60 on Wednesday, reaching $79.05. The company had a trading volume of 2,562,307 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,772,628. The firm has a market cap of $39.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $82.46. The business has a 50 day moving average of $78.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.10. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CTSH shares. Barclays upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $81.19.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company 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.