Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Buys 1,699 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 13.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,909 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,699 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $1,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 32.8% in the third 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. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,056,248 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $544,942,000 after purchasing an additional 231,782 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.0% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,177,547 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $418,467,000 after buying an additional 294,415 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,042,016 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $206,066,000 after buying an additional 28,455 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,680,009 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $113,804,000 after acquiring an additional 58,422 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

CTSH stock opened at $67.52 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.08, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $73.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a current ratio of 2.25. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $58.09 and a 52-week high of $80.09.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.14. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 10.98%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna restated 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. Wolfe Research upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Societe Generale reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.44.

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.