Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Grows Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 36.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,967 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,174 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $904,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFG Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 45.1% during the fourth quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 67,119 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $5,070,000 after buying an additional 20,874 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 36.0% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,227,411 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $83,145,000 after buying an additional 324,638 shares in the last quarter. PGGM Investments boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 53.8% during the third quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 74,411 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $5,041,000 after buying an additional 26,035 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 110.2% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,344,587 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $91,082,000 after buying an additional 704,932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,743 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total value of $69,354.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $640,522.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $66.94 on Friday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $58.47 and a one year high of $80.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a current ratio of 2.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $73.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.14. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.98% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.01 earnings per share. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTSH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (down previously from $87.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Monday, April 1st. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.13.

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.