Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Purchases 225 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,738 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter worth $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its stake 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 1.0 %

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $86.20 on Friday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $87.61. The company has a market cap of $42.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.11, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.09. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.59.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $400,550.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CTSH shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 report on Thursday. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.22.

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.