Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Acquired by ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 50.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 429,660 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 144,535 shares during the quarter. Cognizant Technology Solutions makes up about 3.6% of ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd owned 0.09% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $33,041,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CTSH. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,928,405,000 after purchasing an additional 867,176 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,280,223 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,022,728,000 after purchasing an additional 173,667 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,244,731 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $250,428,000 after purchasing an additional 44,129 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 34.0% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,784,668 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $214,141,000 after purchasing an additional 705,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 29.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,748,982 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $211,369,000 after purchasing an additional 628,970 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on CTSH. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $88.77 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $44.01 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $80.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.35. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12-month low of $63.79 and a 12-month high of $90.82. 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) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 yield of 1.40%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,126,052.42. The trade was a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.