Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Purchases 54,463 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH

Key Points

• Rakuten Investment Management boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 154.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 54,463 more shares and bringing its total to 89,787 shares valued at about $7.63 million.
• Institutional ownership in CTSH remains very high at 92.44%, and several large investors also increased their holdings recently, including Vanguard, Pzena, Invesco, First Trust, and Norges Bank.
• Cognizant reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.40 per share and revenue growth of 5.8%, while also announcing a $2 billion share buyback and a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 154.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 89,787 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after acquiring an additional 54,463 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $7,632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,348,442 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $4,047,570,000 after purchasing an additional 493,912 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 17,710,868 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $1,187,868,000 after purchasing an additional 260,177 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,534,198 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $840,669,000 after purchasing an additional 987,395 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 7.6% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 9,085,998 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $609,398,000 after buying an additional 639,801 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $690,959,000. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CTSH. UBS Group cut their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $60.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Truist Financial began coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Monday, June 1st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $66.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Nomura boosted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $73.50.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of CTSH opened at $51.05 on Wednesday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 52 week low of $45.48 and a 52 week high of $87.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.10, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $54.32 and a 200-day moving average of $67.35.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.50% and a net margin of 10.41%.The company had revenue of $5.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions's revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Cognizant Technology Solutions has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.630-5.770 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.70%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, May 18th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology service provider to purchase up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Profile

Cognizant Technology Solutions NASDAQ: CTSH is a global professional services company that provides information technology, consulting and business process services to large enterprises. Its core offerings include digital engineering, application development and maintenance, cloud migration and managed services, data analytics and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and industry-specific solutions. Cognizant works with clients to design and implement technology-enabled transformations that address customer experience, operational efficiency and new product and service delivery.

Founded in the 1990s and headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, Cognizant has grown into a multinational organization with delivery centers and operations across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

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