Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Has $8.11 Million Stock Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS reduced its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 105,427 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 2,473 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $8,107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 25,931 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $2,001,000 after purchasing an additional 3,917 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter worth approximately $1,403,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.9% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 119,570 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $9,228,000 after purchasing an additional 6,626 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter worth approximately $734,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.0% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 5,638 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $76.42 on Friday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year high of $90.82. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $82.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.43. 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 $37.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.94, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CTSH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho raised Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price 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. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.71.

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.