Alps Advisors Inc. Has $18.59 Million Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Alps Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 242,981 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 4,986 shares during the quarter. Alps Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $18,588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CTSH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Susquehanna raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $77.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $103.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $85.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH traded down $1.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $75.36. The stock had a trading volume of 2,673,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,551,842. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $79.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.84. The firm has a market cap of $37.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.96. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $65.52 and a fifty-two week high of $90.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 2.22.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 16.73%. The business had revenue of $5.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. Cognizant Technology Solutions's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is 26.11%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.