Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Boosts Stock Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 32.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,878 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,436 shares during the quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $452,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at about $527,719,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 54.6% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,633,987 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $433,254,000 after acquiring an additional 1,990,515 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,784,668 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $214,141,000 after purchasing an additional 705,946 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,028,485 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $4,539,290,000 after purchasing an additional 515,881 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,921,900 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $224,694,000 after purchasing an additional 443,536 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 6.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $68.74 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $34.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $82.21 and its 200 day moving average is $79.43. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $63.79 and a 52 week high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued 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 net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 27.49%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information technology service provider to buy up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CTSH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Mizuho raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Fourteen research 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.56.

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.