Sentry Investment Management LLC Buys New Shares in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 1,989 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $153,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CTSH. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 74.7% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 477 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CTSH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. 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. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.67.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This trade represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 0.8 %

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $84.15 on Thursday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $90.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.62 billion, a PE ratio of 18.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50-day moving average is $81.38 and its 200-day moving average is $78.84.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.31 dividend. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company 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.