Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 90.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 31,384 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,918 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $2,413,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CTSH. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,884 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 4,336 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,441 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,338 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen 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.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.39.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $79.12 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.13 billion, a PE ratio of 17.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. 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 1.57%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend 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.