Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Boosts Stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 16.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,796 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,744 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $2,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CTSH. Addison Advisors LLC increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 447 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ CTSH opened at $80.05 on Friday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year high of $82.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. The company has a market capitalization of $39.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.83.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.08%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. Equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors 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 was Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.55%.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the completion of 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTSH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.19.

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.