Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Boosts Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 197.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 68,890 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 45,700 shares during the quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $5,296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Addison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen upped their target price 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.22.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 4.2 %

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $87.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year high of $87.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s fifty day moving average is $79.31 and its 200 day moving average is $77.45.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.55%.

Insider Transactions at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. The trade was a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions 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.