Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Purchased by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 22.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 342,215 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 63,027 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.07% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $25,847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,415,954 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,365,793,000 after purchasing an additional 473,809 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 32.8% in 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,710,353 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $590,394,000 after purchasing an additional 93,518 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,056,248 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $544,942,000 after purchasing an additional 231,782 shares during the period. Finally, Macquarie Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 7,461,555 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $454,633,000 after purchasing an additional 424,988 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on CTSH. Mizuho began coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Wedbush increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 26th. Finally, Societe Generale reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.65.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ CTSH opened at $67.54 on Thursday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $58.09 and a 1-year high of $80.09. The company has a market capitalization of $33.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.08, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $74.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 2.25.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.76 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 10.98%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total transaction of $69,354.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $640,522.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.