Spire Wealth Management Boosts Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Spire Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 11,242.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 54,103 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after purchasing an additional 53,626 shares during the quarter. Spire Wealth Management's holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $4,139,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 85.4% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 621 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on CTSH shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. 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 note on Thursday, May 1st. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and raised their price target for the company from $77.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $85.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ:CTSH traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $77.74. 3,968,769 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,567,387. The company has a market cap of $38.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.98. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $78.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.89. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 52-week low of $65.52 and a 52-week high of $90.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information technology service provider to reacquire up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.11%.

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.