Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Acquired by Parallel Advisors LLC

Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,153 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cibc World Markets Corp increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 2,929,239 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $225,258,000 after purchasing an additional 11,024 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 22,993 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,768,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $308,000. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 710,371 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $54,628,000 after acquiring an additional 46,052 shares during the period. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 6,549 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $504,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CTSH. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays upped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.71.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $77.21 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $63.79 and a 52-week high of $90.82. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.44. The company has a market capitalization of $38.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 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.