Royal Bank of Canada Grows Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 34.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 789,045 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 202,522 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.16% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $60,676,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,028,485 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $4,539,290,000 after buying an additional 515,881 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,437,687 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,032,239,000 after buying an additional 157,464 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,147,006 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $857,205,000 after buying an additional 123,745 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,655,180 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $819,383,000 after buying an additional 287,973 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $527,719,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

CTSH opened at $80.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.92 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.93. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a twelve month low of $63.79 and a twelve month high of $90.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $75.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.94. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 26.11%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 purchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on CTSH. Mizuho raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Susquehanna upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and raised their target price for the company from $77.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.00.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

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.