Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $114.69 Million Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 40.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,491,808 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after buying an additional 430,050 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.30% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $114,694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,028,485 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $4,539,290,000 after purchasing an additional 515,881 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $1,928,405,000 after buying an additional 867,176 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,437,687 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $1,032,239,000 after buying an additional 157,464 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $527,719,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 54.6% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,633,987 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $433,254,000 after buying an additional 1,990,515 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CTSH shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $84.44.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of CTSH stock traded up $0.15 on Friday, reaching $69.65. The company had a trading volume of 887,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,586,072. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.45 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business's 50-day moving average is $80.70 and its 200 day moving average is $79.11. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. Equities research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

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.