Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 665,305 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after acquiring an additional 31,758 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.13% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $51,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter valued at $1,972,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.5% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,187,850 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $91,678,000 after purchasing an additional 40,226 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 12.6% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 101,420 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $7,828,000 after purchasing an additional 11,349 shares in the last quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.3% in the third quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 60,291 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $4,629,000 after purchasing an additional 7,547 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.9% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 119,570 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $9,228,000 after purchasing an additional 6,626 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $80.35.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of CTSH stock traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $79.00. 2,526,495 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,744,286. The firm has a market cap of $39.17 billion, a PE ratio of 17.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.06. 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 firm's 50 day simple moving average is $78.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.13. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $63.79 and a 1-year high of $82.46.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.16 earnings per share. Cognizant Technology Solutions's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.55%.

Insider Transactions at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the firm's 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 directly owns 39,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This trade represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

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.