Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $23.15 Million Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 15.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 302,647 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after buying an additional 40,627 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.06% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $23,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $214,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 136.8% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 7,504 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $577,000 after buying an additional 4,335 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,846 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 1,215 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at $153,000. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 6,838 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $526,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $103.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $85.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $77.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $38.25 billion, a PE ratio of 16.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.98. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $65.52 and a fifty-two week high of $90.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.22. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $78.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.89.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 11.73%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, March 25th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology service provider to buy up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually 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. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is 26.11%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company Profile

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.

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