According to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Dana Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its interest in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ: CTSH – Get Rating) by 59.4% during the third quarter. After selling 203,127 shares over time, the institutional investor had 138,945 shares of the stock of the information technology service company. The value of Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s Cognizant Technology Solutions holdings at the conclusion of the most recent reporting period was $7,981,000.
Several significant investors have increased or decreased their shares in the firm. In the third quarter, BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.9%. BlackRock Inc. now owns 54,965,447 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $3,157,215,000 after acquiring an additional 5,858,087 shares in the last recent quarter. In the third quarter, Boston Partners increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 19.1%. Boston Partners now owns 9,693,839 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at $557,475,000, after purchasing an additional 1,555,239 shares in the last recent quarter. In the third quarter, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its investment in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 6,635.8%. Pacer Advisors Inc. now holds 1,090,799 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at $62,655,000, after purchasing an additional 1,074,605 shares in the preceding quarter. In the second quarter, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 175.2%. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,503,004 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $101,436,000 after purchasing an additional 956,944 shares in the most recent quarter. In the third quarter, Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.5%. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 14,254,984 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $818,806,000 after purchasing an additional 486,853 shares in the most recent quarter. The company’s stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors to the tune of 90.12%.
Cognizant Technology Solutions Cost Effectiveness.
Friday’s noon trading price for Cognizant Technology Solutions shares was $60.70, representing a loss of $0.21 per share. Compared to its usual volume of 4,577,594, the company’s stock volume was 1,049,067 shares. The 12-month low for Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. is $51.33, and the 12-month high is $93.47. The firm’s quick ratio is 2.17, its current ratio is 2.17, and its debt-to-equity ratio is 0.05. The company has a $30.91 billion market capitalization, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24, and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $63.71 and its 100-day moving average is $61.23.
Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ: CTSH – Get Rating) most recently reported quarterly earnings on February 2nd. The information technology service company announced quarterly profits per share of $1.01, matching the $1.01 consensus forecast. Return on equity for Cognizant Technology Solutions was 18.92% while the net margin was 11.7%. The company’s quarterly sales were $4.84 billion, compared to the average forecast of $4.78 billion. During the same time last year, the firm generated $1.10 in earnings per share. The company’s quarterly sales increased by 1.3% compared to the same period the previous year. Analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will generate 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Cognizant Technology Solutions Raises Dividend Payment.
Also, the firm just announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on February 28. A dividend of $0.29 per share was paid on Friday, February 17 to shareholders of record as of Friday, February 17. This is an increase from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a yearly dividend of $1.16 and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date was February 16th, Thursday. The dividend payout ratio for Cognizant Technology Solutions is now 26.24%.
Wall Street Analysts Predict Expansion.
Many equity analysts have commented on the firm. In a research report published on Friday, February 3rd, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $60.00 and assigned the stock an “equal weight” rating. In a report published on Thursday, January 19th, Moffett Nathanson reduced Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “market perform” rating to a “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $60.00. In a research report dated Friday, February 3rd, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $54.00 to $67.00. Wolfe Research downgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions shares from “peer perform” to “underperform” and set a price objective of $49.00 for the business. Thursday, January 5th, within a study report. In a research report published on Friday, January 13th, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $71.00 and assigned the company a “market perform” rating. Five analysts have given a sell recommendation to the stock, eleven have been assigned a hold rating, and two have been assigned a buy rating. The company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.75, according to data from MarketBeat.