Dalton Investments Inc. Acquires 9,300 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Dalton Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 25.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,200 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,300 shares during the period. Cognizant Technology Solutions makes up 1.7% of Dalton Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Dalton Investments Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $3,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 7,445,089 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 19,850.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 3,016,114 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $205,096,000 after buying an additional 3,000,996 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% during the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 18,609,898 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,265,473,000 after buying an additional 1,943,127 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $127,389,000 after buying an additional 1,600,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2,083.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,422,912 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $107,473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,357,755 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $75.64 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.38. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12-month low of $62.14 and a 12-month high of $80.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $37.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.18, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.05.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The information technology service provider reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $4.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.80 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Barclays lifted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Daiwa America raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.44.

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.