Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Purchased by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 40.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,047 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,116 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $2,146,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Unison Advisors LLC boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 29,595 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $2,276,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 24,965 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $1,920,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,884 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,153 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $704,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on CTSH. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. 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 note on Monday, May 19th. Mizuho upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Susquehanna raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and increased their target price for the company from $77.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $103.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $85.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.2%

NASDAQ CTSH traded up $0.15 on Friday, hitting $77.74. 3,968,769 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,567,387. 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 50-day moving average price of $78.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $38.32 billion, a PE ratio of 16.37, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.98.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.11%.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions 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.