MFA Wealth Services Makes New $320,000 Investment in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

MFA Wealth Services bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 4,163 shares of the information technology service provider's stock, valued at approximately $320,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. Addison Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 447 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $400,550.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. The trade was a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on CTSH shares. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $81.19.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH traded up $0.25 during trading on Friday, hitting $79.93. 476,070 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,578,688. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $82.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market cap of $39.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $78.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.75.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

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.