Vest Financial LLC Has $38.51 Million Stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 20.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 503,438 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after purchasing an additional 84,736 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $38,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Retireful LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at about $334,000. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.1% during the first quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 26,911 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $2,059,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 52.6% during the first quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 1,844 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 636 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 8.4% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,781 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the first quarter worth about $1,141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $77.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $103.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $85.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH traded up $0.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $80.28. 2,510,344 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,572,229. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $90.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market cap of $39.57 billion, a PE ratio of 17.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.03.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program 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 programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

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.