Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Boosts Stock Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 157,937 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after buying an additional 6,277 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $12,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CTSH. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,634 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter valued at approximately $155,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 665,305 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $51,348,000 after purchasing an additional 31,758 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,057 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $773,000 after buying an additional 1,235 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 42,651 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $3,282,000 after buying an additional 2,061 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $77.91. The company had a trading volume of 3,028,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,578,940. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $63.79 and a 52-week high of $90.82. The stock has a market cap of $38.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.27, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.58.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is 26.11%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 25th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on 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, TD Securities boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.