Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $461.44 Million Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,000,421 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 392,429 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $461,439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CTSH. Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter worth approximately $225,000. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 21.8% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,634 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter worth $155,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.5% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,187,850 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $91,678,000 after buying an additional 40,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 665,305 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $51,348,000 after buying an additional 31,758 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $69.44 on Friday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12 month low of $63.79 and a 12 month high of $90.82. The company has a market capitalization of $34.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $78.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 27.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CTSH. Barclays raised their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.44.

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.