MQS Management LLC Has $797,000 Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

MQS Management LLC raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 87.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,718 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,475 shares during the period. Cognizant Technology Solutions accounts for approximately 0.5% of MQS Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. MQS Management LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $797,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,111,915 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $3,860,483,000 after buying an additional 7,445,089 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 19,850.5% during the second quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 3,016,114 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $205,096,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000,996 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% in the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 18,609,898 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,265,473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943,127 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1,861.7% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 1,686,597 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $127,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2,083.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,422,912 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $107,473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357,755 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of CTSH opened at $75.35 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.46. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $62.14 and a 1-year high of $80.27. The company has a market capitalization of $37.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.43.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The information technology service provider reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The company had revenue of $4.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 28.85%.

Insider Activity

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total value of $495,584.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 46,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,419,812.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Barclays upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.44.

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.