Bridgewater Associates LP Has $5.38 Million Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Bridgewater Associates LP raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 45.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 69,968 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 21,767 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $5,381,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $17,480,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $604,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter worth $482,000. Mariner LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 61,621 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $4,739,000 after purchasing an additional 10,788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 20,606 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,585,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CTSH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Mizuho raised Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.44.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $69.44 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $90.82. The stock has a market cap of $34.35 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $79.18 and a 200-day moving average of $78.88.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.31 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 buy up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.