Vest Financial LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 11.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 364,249 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after acquiring an additional 36,500 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned about 0.07% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $28,113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the first quarter worth $28,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the second quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total value of $495,584.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 46,427 shares in the company, valued at $3,419,812.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CTSH. StockNews.com raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $73.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.44.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $78.00. 3,058,473 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,829,635. The firm has a market cap of $38.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.46. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $62.14 and a 1 year high of $80.27. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $76.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The information technology service provider reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 11.39%. The business had revenue of $4.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is 28.85%.

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.