Avestar Capital LLC Has $557,000 Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Avestar Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,245 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $557,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CTSH. Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% during the 3rd 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 period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 447 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 74.7% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 477 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 1.7 %

CTSH opened at $89.58 on Friday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a twelve month low of $63.79 and a twelve month high of $89.63. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $79.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.92. The stock has a market cap of $44.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. 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 yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 26.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,126,052.42. The trade was a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTSH has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.67.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

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.