Portfolio Design Labs LLC Invests $232,000 in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Portfolio Design Labs LLC bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 3,016 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 447 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 74.7% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 477 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on CTSH. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $88.08 on Thursday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12-month low of $63.79 and a 12-month high of $88.40. The company has a market cap of $43.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $79.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.84.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. On average, equities analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.61%.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $400,550.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,126,052.42. This trade represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.