Legato Capital Management LLC Takes $824,000 Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 10,776 shares of the information technology service provider's stock, valued at approximately $824,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 21.0% in the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 10,531 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $806,000 after acquiring an additional 1,827 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.4% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 500,039 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $38,253,000 after acquiring an additional 7,105 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 40.7% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 28,047 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $2,146,000 after acquiring an additional 8,116 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 290.9% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 899 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 669 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.0% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 591 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on CTSH shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $77.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $103.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "hold" rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $86.18.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $76.67. 2,549,932 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,941,872. The company has a market cap of $37.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.14, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $78.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.71. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 12-month low of $65.52 and a 12-month high of $90.82.

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

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 dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is 26.11%.

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.