MML Investors Services LLC Has $2.41 Million Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 18.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,180 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,869 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $2,406,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CTSH. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,928,405,000 after purchasing an additional 867,176 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 18,609,898 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,265,473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943,127 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,565,974 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $378,483,000 after acquiring an additional 94,209 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,340,480 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $363,153,000 after acquiring an additional 142,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.4% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 4,844,882 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $329,452,000 after purchasing an additional 67,017 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.47.

Insider Activity

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 0.4 %

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $80.06 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $63.79 and a 1-year high of $82.41. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.63. The company has a market cap of $39.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.10. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

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.