Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC Invests $24.92 Million in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 324,101 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $24,923,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Cognizant Technology Solutions as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,884 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,795 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 4,336 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,441 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,338 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CTSH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” 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. Barclays lifted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.39.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $79.50 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $63.79 and a 52 week high of $90.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $82.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.32 billion, a PE ratio of 17.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business 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. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 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.