Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Takes $1.96 Million Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 24,835 shares of the information technology service provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,962,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CTSH. Addison Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 447 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 74.7% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 477 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $83.99. The stock had a trading volume of 4,637,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,496,602. The firm's 50 day moving average is $81.38 and its 200 day moving average is $78.84. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year high of $90.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is 27.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CTSH. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

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.