Trinity Street Asset Management LLP Makes New Investment in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Trinity Street Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 270,486 shares of the information technology service provider's stock, valued at approximately $20,692,000. Cognizant Technology Solutions accounts for 2.1% of Trinity Street Asset Management LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP owned approximately 0.05% of Cognizant Technology Solutions at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CTSH. CGN Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 49.0% in the first quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 25,070 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $1,918,000 after buying an additional 8,239 shares during the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1,636.9% in the 1st quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 140,658 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $10,760,000 after purchasing an additional 132,560 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 36.5% during the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 7,078 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,892 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 1st quarter worth about $626,000. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.7% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 113,605 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $8,691,000 after purchasing an additional 6,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CTSH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $103.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated 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 lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Robert W. Baird increased 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Susquehanna raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $77.00 to $90.00 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $85.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

CTSH stock traded down $0.58 on Wednesday, hitting $79.74. 2,106,724 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,573,582. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market cap of $39.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.98. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $63.79 and a 1-year high of $90.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $75.43 and a 200-day moving average of $78.98.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last released 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 analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. The company's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. 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.