Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH Shares Acquired by Empowered Funds LLC

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its Cognizant stake by 24% in the first quarter, acquiring 87,151 additional shares for a total of 449,902 shares valued at $27.6 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 92.44% of the company.
• Cognizant exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.40 in EPS versus the $1.33 consensus, while revenue rose 5.8% year over year to $5.41 billion. The company also authorized a $2 billion share repurchase program and declared a $0.33 quarterly dividend, yielding approximately 2.8% annually.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.35. Recent target reductions placed individual estimates between $65 and $74, compared with the stock’s reported price of $47.05.

Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 24.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 449,902 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after purchasing an additional 87,151 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.09% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $27,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter worth $214,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 118.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 569 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the first quarter worth about $142,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.4% in the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 9,160 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $715,000 after acquiring an additional 935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 231.4% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 29,667 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $2,315,000 after acquiring an additional 20,716 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ CTSH opened at $47.05 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 1 year low of $37.08 and a 1 year high of $87.03. The company has a market cap of $22.30 billion, a PE ratio of 10.23, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.87. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $47.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.25.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.41 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 17.50%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. Cognizant Technology Solutions has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.630-5.770 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 5.7 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, May 18th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology service provider to buy up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is presently 28.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Monday, June 1st. They set a "hold" rating and a $66.00 price objective for the company. Nomura dropped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 target price (down from $80.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Monday. Evercore reduced their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $100.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $61.35.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company 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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