3,489 Shares in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Acquired by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 3,489 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $268,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CTSH. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,928,405,000 after purchasing an additional 867,176 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,280,223 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,022,728,000 after buying an additional 173,667 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew 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 acquiring an additional 142,225 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,244,731 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $250,428,000 after acquiring an additional 44,129 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 29.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,748,982 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $211,369,000 after acquiring an additional 628,970 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of CTSH opened at $78.45 on Wednesday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12 month low of $63.79 and a 12 month high of $82.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $78.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $38.90 billion, a PE ratio of 17.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.07.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly 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. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. The trade was a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $95.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.19.

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.