Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Purchased by Boston Partners

Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,406,513 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 336,870 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners’ holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $261,996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,928,405,000 after purchasing an additional 867,176 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,280,223 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,022,728,000 after purchasing an additional 173,667 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,348,102 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $257,469,000 after purchasing an additional 103,371 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 2,929,239 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $225,258,000 after purchasing an additional 11,024 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,921,900 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $224,694,000 after acquiring an additional 443,536 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on CTSH. 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 research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.50.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

CTSH opened at $79.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $39.36 billion, a PE ratio of 17.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.46. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 EPS 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 analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.49%.

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.