Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH Shares Bought by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 752.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,317,166 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,162,580 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $80,808,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CTSH. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,852 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Unison Advisors LLC increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 30,095 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $2,498,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 2,130 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $177,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.6% in the second quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak now owns 24,635 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,922,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,535 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $459,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CTSH. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $72.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $87.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.35.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 3.5%

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $47.05 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $47.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.25. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a twelve month low of $37.08 and a twelve month high of $87.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.23, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, May 18th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology service provider to buy up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 28.70%.

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.