UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Buys 309,919 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,373,164 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after buying an additional 309,919 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.88% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $336,296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 50.7% during the fourth quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 429,660 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $33,041,000 after acquiring an additional 144,535 shares during the period. Todd Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 436,509 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $33,568,000 after purchasing an additional 85,539 shares during the last quarter. Matthews International Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 52.0% in the fourth quarter. Matthews International Capital Management LLC now owns 50,108 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $3,853,000 after buying an additional 17,134 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,219,380 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $93,770,000 after acquiring an additional 31,530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,784,668 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $214,141,000 after acquiring an additional 705,946 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of CTSH stock traded up $1.11 on Tuesday, hitting $80.23. 421,478 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,563,532. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $39.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.93. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $90.82. The business has a 50-day moving average of $75.09 and a 200 day moving average of $78.98.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 25th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is 26.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CTSH. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $98.00 in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $85.00.

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.