Benjamin Edwards Inc. Purchases 4,998 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,461 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,998 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $3,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Unison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 29,595 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $2,276,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 24,965 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $1,920,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,884 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,795 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,153 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock traded up $1.84 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $81.01. 759,203 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,564,525. The company has a market cap of $40.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.93. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $75.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $63.79 and a 52 week high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.11%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on CTSH. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $92.00 to $81.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $83.87.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

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.