Graham Capital Management L.P. Invests $1.90 Million in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 24,714 shares of the information technology service provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,901,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Unison Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 29,595 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $2,276,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 24,965 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $1,920,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,884 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Graypoint LLC increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,795 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CTSH shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $92.00 to $81.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, TD Securities boosted 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.87.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of CTSH traded up $1.00 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $81.36. 2,910,752 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,572,498. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $75.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.73. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a twelve month low of $63.79 and a twelve month high of $90.82. The company has a market cap of $40.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.04, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.93.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.12 billion for 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.11%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.