Xponance Inc. Raises Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 70,777 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,181 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $5,443,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,884 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,795 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,153 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $704,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 4,336 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argent Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 12,607 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $969,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CTSH. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.71.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $79.66 on Thursday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a twelve month low of $63.79 and a twelve month high of $90.82. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $82.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.46. The company has a market cap of $39.40 billion, a PE ratio of 17.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

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.