GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Purchases 4,340 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 69,784 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,340 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $5,366,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 74.7% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 477 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CTSH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $95.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.22.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 4.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $87.09 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $43.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $79.31 and a 200-day moving average of $77.45. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year high of $87.61.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.08%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.