Metis Global Partners LLC Purchases 850 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,732 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 850 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $1,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,928,405,000 after acquiring an additional 867,176 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,280,223 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,022,728,000 after purchasing an additional 173,667 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,244,731 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $250,428,000 after purchasing an additional 44,129 shares during the period. ING Groep NV grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,921,900 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $224,694,000 after purchasing an additional 443,536 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,784,668 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $214,141,000 after purchasing an additional 705,946 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CTSH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.2 %

CTSH stock opened at $83.51 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50-day moving average of $81.64 and a 200-day moving average of $79.07. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. On average, 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 was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company 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.