Barclays PLC Grows Stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH

Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,011,060 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 188,331 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $166,918,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter worth about $55,217,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,421,000. Todd Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 23.7% during the 3rd quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 548,763 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $36,806,000 after purchasing an additional 105,197 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,348,442 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $4,047,570,000 after purchasing an additional 493,912 shares during the period. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 17,710,868 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,187,868,000 after purchasing an additional 260,177 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $50.82 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $24.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $54.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.53. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a one year low of $45.48 and a one year high of $87.03.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.41 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.50% and a net margin of 10.41%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.630-5.770 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 5.7 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, May 18th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology service provider to buy up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 28.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CTSH. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Berenberg Bank cut their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $107.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. Dbs Bank cut their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $66.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $87.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.50.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company Profile

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.