Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Buys Shares of 16,425 Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 16,425 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,257,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth approximately $55,000. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 290.9% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 899 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 669 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CTSH shares. TD Securities raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $103.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.88.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $73.53 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $78.27 and a 200 day moving average of $78.68. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 12-month low of $65.52 and a 12-month high of $90.82. The stock has a market cap of $36.25 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.96.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.17 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 16.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 26.11%.

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.