Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH Stake Raised by Assetmark Inc.

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.1% in the first quarter, adding 28,883 shares to bring its total holding to 592,591 shares worth about $36.4 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 92.44% of Cognizant’s stock. Several large investors also reported significant positions or increases in the company.
• Analysts have turned more cautious, with multiple firms cutting price targets; the stock now carries an average “Hold” rating and an average price target of $64.26.

Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 592,591 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after acquiring an additional 28,883 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc. owned 0.12% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $36,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $690,959,000. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter worth about $673,651,000. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at about $234,671,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.9% in the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 20,262,362 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $1,243,096,000 after buying an additional 2,633,683 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 46.6% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 6,680,508 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $554,482,000 after buying an additional 2,122,600 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CTSH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $92.00 to $74.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $87.00 to $68.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.26.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.5%

NASDAQ CTSH opened at $44.77 on Friday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 52 week low of $37.08 and a 52 week high of $87.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $47.46 and a 200-day moving average of $61.04. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $21.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.87.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 return on equity of 17.50% and a net margin of 10.41%.The firm had revenue of $5.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. The company'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, equities research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 5.7 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its board has authorized a share 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 buy up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

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 2.9%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is currently 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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