11,090 Shares in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Bought by Voleon Capital Management LP

Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 11,090 shares of the information technology service provider's stock, valued at approximately $853,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,028,485 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $4,539,290,000 after purchasing an additional 515,881 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,437,687 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $1,032,239,000 after acquiring an additional 157,464 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,147,006 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $857,205,000 after acquiring an additional 123,745 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,655,180 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $819,383,000 after acquiring an additional 287,973 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $527,719,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company's stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 3.3 %

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock traded up $2.47 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $77.70. The company had a trading volume of 5,330,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,581,150. The firm's fifty day moving average is $75.76 and its 200-day moving average is $78.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.03. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $90.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $5.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.06 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.49%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 25th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $77.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TD Securities lifted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.87.

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.