World Investment Advisors Acquires 973 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 17.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,607 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 973 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CTSH. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 447 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 74.7% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 477 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on CTSH. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group cut their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.56.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

CTSH stock opened at $67.38 on Tuesday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $63.79 and a 1-year high of $90.82. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $81.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.38. The firm has a market cap of $33.33 billion, a PE ratio of 14.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology service provider to reacquire up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.