436,655 Shares in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Bought by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 436,655 shares of the information technology service provider's stock, valued at approximately $33,579,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.09% of Cognizant Technology Solutions as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 50.7% in 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 buying an additional 144,535 shares during the period. Todd Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 436,509 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $33,568,000 after buying an additional 85,539 shares during the period. Matthews International Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.7% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 31,530 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 34.0% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 705,946 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ CTSH traded down $0.35 during trading on Friday, reaching $80.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,241,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,582,996. 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 capitalization of $39.58 billion, a PE ratio of 17.80, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $75.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.95. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $63.79 and a 1-year high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The company's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is 26.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CTSH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.