Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Takes $907,000 Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 11,796 shares of the information technology service provider's stock, valued at approximately $907,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 447 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 74.7% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 477 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CTSH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays upped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho raised their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of 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, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,126,052.42. The trade was a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH traded up $1.12 during trading on Monday, reaching $90.70. The company had a trading volume of 4,369,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,990,005. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $63.79 and a 52 week high of $90.82. The business's 50 day moving average price is $80.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.14. The stock has a market cap of $44.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.11, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.09.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. Analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is currently 26.61%.

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.