Kimelman & Baird LLC Acquires New Shares in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 700 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $48,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CTSH. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the second quarter worth $40,000. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CTSH shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total transaction 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.4 %

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $77.18 on Tuesday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a twelve month low of $62.14 and a twelve month high of $80.27. The stock has a market cap of $38.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $75.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.33. The company has a quick ratio of 2.46, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The information technology service provider reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.80 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 11.39%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.85%.

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.