Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Acquired by Berger Financial Group Inc

Berger Financial Group Inc increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 67,208 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 991 shares during the quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $5,168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CTSH. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.5% in the third 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 buying an additional 40,226 shares in the last quarter. CGN Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $1,294,000. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 50.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 144,535 shares in the last quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $33,568,000 after purchasing an additional 85,539 shares during the period. Finally, Matthews International Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 52.0% during 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 buying an additional 17,134 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $103.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Mizuho raised Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of CTSH opened at $72.17 on Friday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $90.82. The company’s fifty day moving average is $76.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.64. The firm has a market cap of $35.70 billion, a PE ratio of 16.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. Analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 25th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology service provider to purchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 27.49%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions 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.