Sterling Capital Management LLC Has $2.28 Million Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 55.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,698 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,575 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $2,284,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Unison Advisors LLC increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 29,595 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $2,276,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 24,965 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $1,920,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,884 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,795 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,153 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTSH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $84.44.

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Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 1.0 %

CTSH stock opened at $70.17 on Monday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year high of $90.82. The stock has a market cap of $34.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $80.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, March 25th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

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.

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