Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH Stock Acquired by Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich

Key Points

• Bank Julius Baer & Co. increased its Cognizant stake by 404.1% in the third quarter, to 64,718 shares valued at about $3.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.44% of the stock.
• Cognizant reported quarterly earnings of $1.49 per share, above the $1.46 consensus estimate, while revenue of $5.66 billion also topped expectations and rose 4.6% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, equivalent to a 2.1% annualized yield. Analysts’ average rating was “Hold,” with an average price target of $68.17.

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 404.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 64,718 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after purchasing an additional 51,880 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich's holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $3,706,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the first quarter worth $29,510,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 289.6% in the 3rd quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 2,905,584 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $166,897,000 after purchasing an additional 2,159,704 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,929,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 752.1% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,317,166 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $80,808,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 246.5% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 160,866 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $9,240,000 after purchasing an additional 114,435 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $63.83 on Wednesday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 52-week low of $37.08 and a 52-week high of $87.03. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $62.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.22.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.75% and a return on equity of 17.72%. The company's revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 5.76 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is currently 24.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $67.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price objective (up from $65.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Friday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and set a $60.00 target price (up from $54.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $68.17.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Profile

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation is a global information technology services and consulting company that helps organizations modernize their technology infrastructure, operations and customer experiences. The company serves businesses across industries including financial services, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, retail and communications.

Cognizant's services include consulting, application development and modernization, cloud computing, data and artificial intelligence, digital engineering, cybersecurity and business process services.

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