National Pension Service Purchases 31,391 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6%, acquiring an additional 31,391 shares, which brings its total ownership to 891,549 shares valued at approximately $68.2 million.
• Recent analyst reports show mixed opinions on Cognizant, with JPMorgan cutting its price target while Evercore ISI initiated coverage with an "outperform" rating and a target of $100.00.
• Cognizant's latest earnings report exceeded expectations, with $1.31 EPS against analysts' predictions of $1.26, alongside revenue growth of 8.1% year-over-year.

National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 3.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 891,549 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after purchasing an additional 31,391 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.18% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $68,203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 21.0% in the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 10,531 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $806,000 after acquiring an additional 1,827 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 500,039 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $38,253,000 after acquiring an additional 7,105 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 28,047 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $2,146,000 after acquiring an additional 8,116 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 290.9% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 899 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $98.00 to $93.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $100.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "hold" rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $86.56.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $69.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 2.41. The firm's 50-day moving average is $76.09 and its 200-day moving average is $78.05. The stock has a market cap of $33.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.10, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.90. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 52-week low of $65.52 and a 52-week high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.89% and a return on equity of 16.77%. The company had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is 25.20%.

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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