Board of the Pension Protection Fund Invests $185,000 in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,400 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $185,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 152.8% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,120,012 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $146,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,236 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 276.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,588,528 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $122,603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167,033 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 146.9% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,644,723 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $126,940,000 after purchasing an additional 978,579 shares during the period. ING Groep NV boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 61.5% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,478,364 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $191,280,000 after buying an additional 943,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% during 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 buying an additional 867,176 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $400,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares in the company, 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 accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.19.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $77.78 on Thursday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $63.79 and a 1-year high of $82.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The stock has a market cap of $38.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.37.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 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.