Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH Stock Position Lifted by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its Cognizant stake by 925.5% in the second quarter, adding 3.30 million shares to own 3.65 million shares worth approximately $141.5 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 92.44% of CTSH.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $63, while CTSH recently traded at $56.89. The company narrowly missed quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.37 in EPS on $5.48 billion in revenue, though revenue grew 4.5% year over year.
• Cognizant declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, representing a 2.3% annualized yield, and authorized a $2 billion share repurchase program covering up to 9% of outstanding shares.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 925.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,652,358 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,296,205 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.77% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $141,456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CTSH. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.9% in the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 20,262,362 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $1,243,096,000 after purchasing an additional 2,633,683 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 8.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,534,198 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $840,669,000 after purchasing an additional 987,395 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $690,959,000. GQG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter worth about $673,651,000. Finally, FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 46.6% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 6,680,508 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $554,482,000 after buying an additional 2,122,600 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Evercore decreased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $100.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 target price (down from $80.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Monday, July 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $55.00 price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $59.00 price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $63.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $56.89 on Friday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 12-month low of $37.08 and a 12-month high of $87.03. The company has a market cap of $26.96 billion, a PE ratio of 12.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $5.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.48 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.26% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The firm's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.700-5.820 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 5.7 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is currently 28.39%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, May 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information technology service provider to reacquire up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

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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