Headlands Technologies LLC Buys 13,447 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 55.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,837 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,447 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $2,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 19.1% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 20,701 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,598,000 after purchasing an additional 3,324 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 7,116.3% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 38,463 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $2,969,000 after purchasing an additional 37,930 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter worth about $1,712,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 60,813 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $4,694,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 22,892 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,742,000 after acquiring an additional 1,152 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on CTSH shares. Mizuho raised Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group cut their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered 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 research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.56.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of CTSH opened at $76.50 on Tuesday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $63.79 and a 1 year high of $90.82. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.09. The company has a market capitalization of $37.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.31 dividend. 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 yield of 1.62%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 25th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology service provider to buy up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.