Aberdeen Group plc Acquires 227,666 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 123.3%, acquiring an additional 227,666 shares, bringing their total to 412,266 shares valued at approximately $31.18 million.
• Cognizant reported earnings per share of $1.31, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.05, while revenue rose 8.1% year-over-year to $5.25 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31 to be paid on August 26, representing an annualized payout of $1.24 and a yield of 1.8%.

Aberdeen Group plc lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 123.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 412,266 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after acquiring an additional 227,666 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.08% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $31,180,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CTSH. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,029,067 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $461,169,000 after purchasing an additional 28,646 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 39,272 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $3,004,000 after purchasing an additional 4,879 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 361.1% during the 1st quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 33,901 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $2,593,000 after purchasing an additional 26,549 shares in the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 194,420 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $14,873,000 after purchasing an additional 24,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 45.2% during the 1st quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 23,073 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $1,765,000 after purchasing an additional 7,181 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on CTSH shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $103.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Susquehanna upgraded shares of 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 research note on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $100.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "hold" rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $86.31.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CTSH traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $70.49. The stock had a trading volume of 3,492,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,853,912. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.78. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 52 week low of $65.52 and a 52 week high of $90.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.17 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.89% and a return on equity of 16.77%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.080-5.220 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.20%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company 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.