Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Holdings Raised by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,000,421 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 392,429 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.21% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $461,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $527,719,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 54.6% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,633,987 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $433,254,000 after acquiring an additional 1,990,515 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,784,668 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $214,141,000 after acquiring an additional 705,946 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,028,485 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $4,539,290,000 after acquiring an additional 515,881 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,921,900 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $224,694,000 after purchasing an additional 443,536 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CTSH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of 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. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.44.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

CTSH opened at $69.44 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.84. The firm has a market cap of $34.35 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.49%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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.