Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 36,189 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,078,205 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after buying an additional 36,189 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.61% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $232,497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CTSH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,663,814 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $1,196,547,000 after purchasing an additional 4,365,493 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at $53,176,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 110.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,344,587 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $91,082,000 after acquiring an additional 704,932 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 184.4% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,034,741 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $78,154,000 after purchasing an additional 670,939 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 432.9% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 608,068 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $41,191,000 after purchasing an additional 493,957 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CTSH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $75.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 1.4 %

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock traded down $0.92 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $66.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,299,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,320,709. The company has a market capitalization of $33.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.08. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12 month low of $61.12 and a 12 month high of $80.09. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $71.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The information technology service provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.72 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 17.48%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction dated 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

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.