Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Bought by Point72 Europe London LLP

Point72 Europe London LLP lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 338.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,523 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after purchasing an additional 29,730 shares during the period. Point72 Europe London LLP's holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $2,962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 107,505 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $8,267,000 after acquiring an additional 6,535 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,355 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $403,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,547 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $503,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $185,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,681,530 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $129,310,000 after acquiring an additional 93,002 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CTSH traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $81.44. The stock had a trading volume of 5,603,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,568,115. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.93. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a twelve month low of $63.79 and a twelve month high of $90.82. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.84.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $5.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The firm's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.87.

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.