Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Bought by Unigestion Holding SA

Unigestion Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 1,636.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 140,658 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after acquiring an additional 132,560 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA's holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $10,760,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 50.7% in the fourth quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 429,660 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $33,041,000 after purchasing an additional 144,535 shares during the last quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 436,509 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $33,568,000 after buying an additional 85,539 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,219,380 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $93,770,000 after buying an additional 31,530 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $443,000. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ CTSH traded down $0.58 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $79.74. 2,106,724 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,573,582. The company has a market capitalization of $39.31 billion, a PE ratio of 17.68, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $63.79 and a 52-week high of $90.82. The firm's 50-day moving average is $75.43 and its 200-day moving average is $78.98.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last posted 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 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. The business had revenue of $5.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is 26.11%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group lowered their target price 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $103.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $85.00.

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.