Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Holdings Boosted by Leuthold Group LLC

Leuthold Group LLC boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 53.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,407 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,579 shares during the period. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $559,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 26.5% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 773 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.0% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 434,244 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $29,416,000 after buying an additional 4,092 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 8.6% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 38,932 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $2,637,000 after acquiring an additional 3,088 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 6.6% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 3,322 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 20.5% during the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 126,181 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $8,547,000 after acquiring an additional 21,464 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ:CTSH traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $67.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 523,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,310,123. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $60.26 and a fifty-two week high of $80.09. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market capitalization of $33.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $72.05 and a 200-day moving average of $72.55.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The information technology service provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.72 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 17.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on CTSH. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays dropped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $70.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total transaction of $69,354.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $640,522.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.