Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 79,030 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,814 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $5,969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.2% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,415,954 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,365,793,000 after purchasing an additional 473,809 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,663,814 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,196,547,000 after buying an additional 4,365,493 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,710,353 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $590,394,000 after acquiring an additional 93,518 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.0% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,056,248 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $544,942,000 after acquiring an additional 231,782 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Macquarie Group Ltd. raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 6.0% during the first quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 7,461,555 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $454,633,000 after purchasing an additional 424,988 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $67.44 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $74.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.51. The firm has a market cap of $33.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.06. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12 month low of $58.09 and a 12 month high of $80.09.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.14. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.98% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.6 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 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on CTSH shares. Barclays increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price (down previously from $87.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In related news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total transaction of $69,354.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $640,522.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.