Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 19,185 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 676,581 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after acquiring an additional 19,185 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.14% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $51,758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $527,719,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 54.6% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,633,987 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $433,254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,990,515 shares during the last quarter. AE Industrial Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $113,088,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 98.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,742,442 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $210,894,000 after purchasing an additional 1,363,570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.8% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,303,355 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $254,028,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068,420 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $98.00 in a report on Monday, May 19th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $77.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $85.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock traded down $0.76 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $79.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,935,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,562,277. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 1-year low of $65.52 and a 1-year high of $90.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 2.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $79.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.85. The company has a market cap of $39.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.96.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 earnings per share 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 net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 16.73%. The business's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is presently 26.11%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology service provider to purchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

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.