Ballentine Partners LLC Purchases 1,091 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 18.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,874 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,091 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 13.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,045,823 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $4,254,178,000 after purchasing an additional 6,933,908 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $205,096,000 after buying an additional 3,000,996 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% in the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 1,943,127 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 152.8% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,120,012 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $146,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 276.9% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,588,528 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $122,603,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167,033 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $74.82 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.20 billion, a PE ratio of 17.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.05. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $76.50 and its 200 day moving average is $71.83. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $62.14 and a 1 year high of $80.27.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced 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 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 prior year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 28.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CTSH. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America raised shares of 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. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.58.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 46,427 shares in the company, valued at $3,419,812.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently 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.