AIA Group Ltd Buys Shares of 45,636 Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH

Key Points

• AIA Group Ltd bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the first quarter, acquiring 45,636 shares worth about $2.8 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on Cognizant is mixed: analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $64.26, even though several firms still rate the stock as Buy or Overweight.
• Cognizant reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.40 per share and revenue that rose 5.8% year over year, while also authorizing a $2 billion share buyback and paying a $0.33 quarterly dividend.

AIA Group Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 45,636 shares of the information technology service provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,800,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 165.1% during the 4th quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 342 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 85.0% in the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 370 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Nomura lowered their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. HSBC cut their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $92.00 to $74.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings cut Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Wedbush raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $64.26.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $44.77 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.87. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 1-year low of $37.08 and a 1-year high of $87.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $47.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.88.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 17.50%. The business had revenue of $5.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm's revenue 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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, May 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.70%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions 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.

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