Mariner LLC Purchases 10,788 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Mariner LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 21.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 61,621 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after buying an additional 10,788 shares during the period. Mariner LLC's holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $4,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 20,606 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $1,585,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $313,000. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 22,840 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $1,756,000 after purchasing an additional 2,139 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 55.3% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 29,698 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $2,284,000 after buying an additional 10,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. now owns 12,600 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $969,000 after acquiring an additional 3,402 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH traded up $1.07 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $72.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,742,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,605,110. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12 month low of $63.79 and a 12 month high of $90.82. The stock has a market cap of $35.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.09. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.68.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last issued 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, analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology service provider to reacquire up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is 27.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CTSH. 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 report on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Mizuho upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $84.53.

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.