Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Acquires 978,579 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 146.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,644,723 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 978,579 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $126,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,972,000. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 60,291 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $4,629,000 after acquiring an additional 7,547 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 101,420 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $7,828,000 after acquiring an additional 11,349 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 119,570 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $9,228,000 after acquiring an additional 6,626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 135.4% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 33,305 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $2,441,000 after acquiring an additional 19,157 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ CTSH opened at $81.06 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $40.19 billion, a PE ratio of 17.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $77.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.51. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $63.79 and a 52 week high of $82.41.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.10. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.08%. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 26.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CTSH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.47.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

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.