Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Stake Raised by Argent Trust Co

Argent Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 18.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,847 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $330,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CTSH. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 worth $3,860,483,000 after buying an additional 7,445,089 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 19,850.5% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised 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 worth $1,265,473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943,127 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1,861.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,600,621 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.6 %

CTSH stock opened at $75.64 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $37.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.18, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $62.14 and a 1 year high of $80.27. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. StockNews.com lowered Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 46,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,419,812.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company 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.