Toronto Dominion Bank Grows Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 46.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 280,064 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after buying an additional 89,342 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank owned 0.06% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $21,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CTSH. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 19,931 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 1,360 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at about $214,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,535 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,179 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,962,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CTSH shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Mizuho raised Cognizant Technology Solutions to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $85.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH traded down $0.35 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $80.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,241,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,586,756. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.09. The stock has a market cap of $39.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.93. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12 month low of $63.79 and a 12 month high of $90.82. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.98.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.06 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. The business's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is 26.11%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions 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.