Prio Wealth Limited Partnership Purchases New Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Prio Wealth Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 3,400 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 29.9% in the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 651 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 854 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Auxano Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 6,845 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $417,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 2,541 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 5,460 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $490,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, Director Michael Patsalos-Fox sold 6,926 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.79, for a total value of $434,883.54. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 64,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,062,199.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Leo S. Jr. Mackay sold 4,473 shares of the company’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 transaction of $277,281.27. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,671 shares in the company, valued at $1,653,335.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael Patsalos-Fox sold 6,926 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CTSH shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $72.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 22nd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Friday, August 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 25th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.94.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

CTSH traded down $0.27 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $71.46. The stock had a trading volume of 221,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,971,916. The firm has a market cap of $36.09 billion, a PE ratio of 16.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12 month low of $51.33 and a 12 month high of $72.71. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.89.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The information technology service provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $4.89 billion for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. Analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.4 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Friday, August 18th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 27.04%.

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.