Brandes Investment Partners LP Buys 58,728 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH

Key Points

• Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its Cognizant Technology Solutions stake by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 58,728 shares and bringing its total to 2,322,430 shares valued at about $192.8 million.
• Cognizant reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.40 per share on revenue of $5.41 billion, with revenue up 5.8% year over year and FY 2026 EPS guidance set at 5.630-5.770.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.33 and authorized a $2 billion share repurchase program, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus "Hold" with a $73.50 target price.

Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,322,430 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after purchasing an additional 58,728 shares during the quarter. Cognizant Technology Solutions comprises about 1.5% of Brandes Investment Partners LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned about 0.48% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $192,763,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 165.1% in the fourth quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 342 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 85.0% in the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 370 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

CTSH opened at $52.94 on Wednesday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 52-week low of $45.48 and a 52-week high of $87.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.09 billion, a PE ratio of 11.51, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $55.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.19.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.41 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.50% and a net margin of 10.41%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. Cognizant Technology Solutions has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.630-5.770 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.70%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, May 18th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology service provider to reacquire up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTSH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Nomura upped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Dbs Bank reduced their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Argus raised Cognizant Technology Solutions to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $73.50.

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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