Czech National Bank Has $8.69 Million Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Czech National Bank increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 113,605 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after buying an additional 6,100 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank's holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $8,691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $527,719,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 54.6% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,633,987 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $433,254,000 after buying an additional 1,990,515 shares during the period. AE Industrial Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $113,088,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 98.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,742,442 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $210,894,000 after acquiring an additional 1,363,570 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.8% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,303,355 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $254,028,000 after acquiring an additional 1,068,420 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH traded down $0.42 during trading on Thursday, reaching $79.32. 3,192,420 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,576,479. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $63.79 and a 52 week high of $90.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.10 billion, a PE ratio of 17.59, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.98. The company's 50 day moving average is $75.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.98.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The firm had revenue of $5.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 25th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology service provider to purchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is 26.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CTSH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $88.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $85.00.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

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.