Heritage Family Offices LLP Makes New Investment in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Heritage Family Offices LLP bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 14,910 shares of the information technology service provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,141,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 74.7% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 477 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CTSH has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Securities raised their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $88.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Monday, May 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $85.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH traded up $0.96 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $80.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,510,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,572,229. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $75.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.03. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.98.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.11%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology service provider to reacquire up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.