Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $51.35 Million Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 665,305 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after purchasing an additional 31,758 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $51,348,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 13.6% during 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 period. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% during the second 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. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,781,273 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $569,175,000 after acquiring an additional 101,078 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,565,974 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $378,483,000 after acquiring an additional 94,209 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,340,480 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $363,153,000 after purchasing an additional 142,225 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH traded up $1.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $81.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,947,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,825,802. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year high of $82.19. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $76.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The stock has a market cap of $40.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.05.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.16 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTSH has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Mizuho upped 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 note on Friday, November 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $78.83.

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.