Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Buys 6,488 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 222,615 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,488 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $17,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter valued at about $161,000. Creative Planning grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 8.6% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 44,423 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $3,429,000 after acquiring an additional 3,518 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.8% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,972 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.5% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 55,502 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $4,284,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.8% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 11,169 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $862,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $90.70 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $80.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12-month low of $63.79 and a 12-month high of $90.82.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This trade represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.