Handelsbanken Fonder AB Buys 5,390 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 148,121 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,390 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $11,331,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CTSH. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $907,000. Portfolio Design Labs LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $232,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 275,450 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $21,047,000 after acquiring an additional 27,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 175,029 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $13,459,000 after acquiring an additional 3,349 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of CTSH traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $80.15. 5,398,526 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,565,965. The business has a fifty day moving average of $76.89 and a 200-day moving average of $79.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.51 billion, a PE ratio of 17.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.98. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $63.79 and a 1-year high of $90.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company 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 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is presently 26.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on CTSH. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $103.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $98.00 in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.