Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC Invests $408,000 in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,300 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $408,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CTSH. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.5% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,187,850 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $91,678,000 after buying an additional 40,226 shares in the last quarter. CGN Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,294,000. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 50.7% during the 4th quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 429,660 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $33,041,000 after acquiring an additional 144,535 shares during the period. Todd Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 436,509 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $33,568,000 after purchasing an additional 85,539 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Matthews International Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 52.0% in the fourth quarter. Matthews International Capital Management LLC now owns 50,108 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $3,853,000 after purchasing an additional 17,134 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on CTSH shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.56.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 6.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $68.74 on Friday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $63.79 and a 1-year high of $90.82. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $82.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.03.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology service provider to purchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. 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. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 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.