LPL Financial LLC Acquires 69,509 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 36.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 260,691 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after acquiring an additional 69,509 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.05% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $20,047,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,884 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,153 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 4,336 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Argent Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 12,607 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $969,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CTSH. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $93.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $84.56.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of CTSH traded down $3.46 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $73.27. 3,835,039 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,552,761. The company has a market cap of $36.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $63.79 and a 1 year high of $90.82. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $82.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is an increase 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%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.