Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Purchased by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) by 18.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 680,463 shares of the information technology service provider's stock after acquiring an additional 105,628 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.14% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $52,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 447 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 74.7% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 477 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Susquehanna raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $77.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on 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. TD Securities upped their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $93.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $85.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $81.17. The stock had a trading volume of 822,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,554,279. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $90.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $75.09 and a 200-day moving average of $78.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market cap of $40.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.00, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.93.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, March 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company 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 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 yield of 1.53%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is 26.11%.

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.