Meeder Asset Management Inc. Buys 193 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 32.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 786 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $61,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 18,609,898 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,265,473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943,127 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,781,273 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $569,175,000 after acquiring an additional 101,078 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,565,974 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $378,483,000 after purchasing an additional 94,209 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,340,480 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $363,153,000 after purchasing an additional 142,225 shares during the period. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 4,844,882 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $329,452,000 after acquiring an additional 67,017 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

CTSH opened at $77.57 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.11. The stock has a market cap of $38.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $63.79 and a 1-year high of $82.41.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on CTSH. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.47.

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.