Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Purchased by World Investment Advisors LLC

World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,634 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $400,550.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. The trade was a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Daiwa America raised Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $76.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.35.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.4 %

CTSH opened at $81.03 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year high of $82.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.55%.

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.