LPL Financial LLC Has $20.05 Million Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 36.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 260,691 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 69,509 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.05% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $20,047,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,187,850 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $91,678,000 after purchasing an additional 40,226 shares during the period. CGN Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,294,000. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 50.7% during the 4th quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 429,660 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $33,041,000 after acquiring an additional 144,535 shares in the last quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 436,509 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $33,568,000 after acquiring an additional 85,539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Matthews International Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 52.0% in the fourth quarter. Matthews International Capital Management LLC now owns 50,108 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $3,853,000 after acquiring an additional 17,134 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $76.50 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $63.79 and a 1 year high of $90.82. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.51. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology service provider to purchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTSH has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $93.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.56.

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.