7,450 Shares in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Bought by Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A.

Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 7,450 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $454,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 98.1% during the 1st quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 410 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Vigilant Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 1st quarter worth $37,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 113.8% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 682 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on CTSH shares. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Friday, August 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.94.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ:CTSH traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $71.73. 1,744,000 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,994,486. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 2.27. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.86. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $51.33 and a 1 year high of $72.71. The company has a market cap of $36.23 billion, a PE ratio of 16.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.09.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The information technology service provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $4.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.84 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.31% and a return on equity of 18.00%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.4 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 18th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.04%.

Insider Transactions at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, Director Leo S. Jr. Mackay sold 4,473 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $277,281.27. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 26,671 shares in the company, valued at $1,653,335.29. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Leo S. Jr. Mackay sold 4,473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $277,281.27. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 26,671 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,653,335.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael Patsalos-Fox sold 6,926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.79, for a total transaction of $434,883.54. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 64,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,062,199.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.