National Pension Service Has $70.07 Million Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 15.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 907,902 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after purchasing an additional 124,740 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.18% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $70,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,045,823 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $4,254,178,000 after purchasing an additional 6,933,908 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 19,850.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 3,016,114 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $205,096,000 after buying an additional 3,000,996 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 18,609,898 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $1,265,473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943,127 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 152.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,120,012 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $146,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,236 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 276.9% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,588,528 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $122,603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167,033 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 5.3 %

NASDAQ CTSH traded up $4.01 on Wednesday, reaching $79.40. The stock had a trading volume of 4,132,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,827,041. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $63.79 and a 1 year high of $80.27. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $76.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.21. 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 company has a market capitalization of $39.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.05.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. The firm's revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CTSH. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $78.37.

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.