Hsbc Holdings PLC Grows Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 27.2% in the first quarter, adding 742,466 shares to reach 3.47 million shares valued at about $213 million.
• Cognizant recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with EPS of $1.40 versus the $1.33 consensus, while revenue came in at $5.41 billion, up 5.8% year over year.
• The company also announced a $2 billion share buyback and a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average price target of $64.26.

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 27.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,471,681 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after purchasing an additional 742,466 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.73% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $213,004,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $690,959,000. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $673,651,000. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $234,671,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.9% during the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 20,262,362 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $1,243,096,000 after purchasing an additional 2,633,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 46.6% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 6,680,508 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $554,482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,122,600 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $44.77 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $47.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.04. The company has a market capitalization of $21.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.87. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 1 year low of $37.08 and a 1 year high of $87.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 17.50%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.630-5.770 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is 28.70%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, May 18th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology service provider to reacquire up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $44.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Evercore decreased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $100.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.26.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company Profile

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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