HighTower Advisors LLC Has $7.99 Million Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC cut its Cognizant Technology Solutions stake by 24% in the fourth quarter, selling 30,450 shares and leaving it with 96,243 shares worth about $7.99 million.
• Cognizant reported Q1 earnings of $1.40 per share, topping estimates, while revenue came in at $5.41 billion and rose 5.8% year over year. The company also issued FY2026 EPS guidance of 5.630 to 5.770.
• The board approved a $2 billion stock buyback and declared a $0.33 quarterly dividend, equal to a 2.5% yield. Meanwhile, analysts have turned more cautious, with several cutting price targets and the stock carrying a Hold consensus rating.

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 24.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 96,243 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after selling 30,450 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $7,988,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,852 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 30,095 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $2,498,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 2,130 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak now owns 24,635 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Haven Private LLC lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Haven Private LLC now owns 8,451 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $51.81 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.55 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $56.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.51. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $45.48 and a fifty-two week high of $87.03.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.41 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.50% and a net margin of 10.41%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.630-5.770 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Dbs Bank dropped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $66.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $60.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and set a $62.00 price target (down from $71.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Evercore dropped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $100.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $73.00.

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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