Oak Thistle LLC Makes New Investment in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 23,056 shares of the information technology service provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,764,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,000. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:CTSH traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $76.67. 2,549,932 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,941,872. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 12-month low of $65.52 and a 12-month high of $90.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.14, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 2.22. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $78.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.71.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 11.73%. The company had revenue of $5.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on CTSH. Evercore ISI began coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $103.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Susquehanna raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $77.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $86.18.

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.