PGGM Investments Increases Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

PGGM Investments boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 33.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 99,480 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after purchasing an additional 25,069 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments' holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $7,514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CTSH. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 43.2% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 590 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 773 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total transaction of $69,354.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,312 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $640,522.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ CTSH traded up $0.18 on Friday, reaching $66.94. 2,818,907 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,583,097. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $58.47 and a one year high of $80.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.33 billion, a PE ratio of 15.94, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.06. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $73.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.14. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.98% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTSH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (down previously from $87.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.13.

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.