Royal Bank of Canada Raises Stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation $CTSH

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 97.5% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 768,933 shares, bringing its total to 1,557,978 shares valued at approximately $119.2 million.
• Cognizant reported a net margin of 11.89% and a revenue of $5.25 billion for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and has set guidance for FY 2025 earnings between $5.080 to $5.220 EPS.
• The stock's current consensus rating is a "Hold", with a price target of $86.07, indicating cautious optimism from analysts regarding future performance.

Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 97.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,557,978 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after purchasing an additional 768,933 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.31% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $119,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 117.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,805,893 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $520,651,000 after buying an additional 3,677,145 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2,585.0% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,776,601 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $135,910,000 after buying an additional 1,710,433 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 13.3% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,077,445 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $923,925,000 after buying an additional 1,422,265 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the first quarter worth $90,194,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings 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 worth $254,028,000 after buying an additional 1,068,420 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 0.5%

CTSH traded up $0.37 during trading on Friday, hitting $71.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,981,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,438,767. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a twelve month low of $65.52 and a twelve month high of $90.82. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $73.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.60, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.93.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.77% and a net margin of 11.89%.The company had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. Cognizant Technology Solutions's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Cognizant Technology Solutions has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.080-5.220 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on CTSH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $101.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Guggenheim upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $86.07.

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.