International Assets Investment Management LLC Acquires Shares of 23,641 Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 23,641 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,786,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 33.5% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 630 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 29.9% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 651 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 26.5% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 773 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total transaction of $69,354.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,312 shares in the company, valued at $640,522.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $67.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a current ratio of 2.25. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $58.09 and a 52-week high of $80.09. The firm has a market cap of $33.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.06, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s fifty day moving average is $74.45 and its 200 day moving average is $72.54.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.14. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 10.98%. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CTSH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Societe Generale reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Friday, January 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $85.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Wedbush lifted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 26th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.94.

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.