Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Boosts Stock Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 152,911 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,300 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $10,256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 2nd quarter valued at about $487,526,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 59.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,778,252 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $253,407,000 after buying an additional 1,407,776 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the second quarter valued at approximately $74,917,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $59,176,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,854,530 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $4,670,449,000 after acquiring an additional 746,732 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

CTSH opened at $66.55 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $82.04 and its 200 day moving average is $74.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $32.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.95. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 12-month low of $65.00 and a 12-month high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information technology service provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.31 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 17.17%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. Cognizant Technology Solutions has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.700 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $98.00 target price (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $86.00 target price (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $200,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 36,149 shares in the company, valued at $2,891,920. The trade was a 6.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 2,950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.06, for a total value of $250,927.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,397,277.54. This represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,434 shares of company stock valued at $2,460,809. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ: CTSH) is a global professional services company that provides information technology, consulting and business process services to large enterprises. Its core offerings include digital engineering, application development and maintenance, cloud migration and managed services, data analytics and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and industry-specific solutions. Cognizant works with clients to design and implement technology-enabled transformations that address customer experience, operational efficiency and new product and service delivery.

Founded in the 1990s and headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, Cognizant has grown into a multinational organization with delivery centers and operations across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.