Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Buys Shares of 436,655 Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 436,655 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $33,579,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter worth approximately $527,719,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 54.6% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,633,987 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $433,254,000 after buying an additional 1,990,515 shares in the last quarter. AE Industrial Partners LP bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter worth approximately $113,088,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 98.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,742,442 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $210,894,000 after acquiring an additional 1,363,570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.8% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,303,355 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $254,028,000 after acquiring an additional 1,068,420 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. Mizuho raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $103.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 1.9%

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $80.64 on Wednesday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $63.79 and a 1-year high of $90.82. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $75.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.93.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. The company’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.11%.

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.