ProShare Advisors LLC Has $52.33 Million Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 18.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 680,463 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 105,628 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $52,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CTSH. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $527,719,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 54.6% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,633,987 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $433,254,000 after buying an additional 1,990,515 shares in the last quarter. AE Industrial Partners LP acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $113,088,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 98.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,742,442 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $210,894,000 after purchasing an additional 1,363,570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.8% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,303,355 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $254,028,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068,420 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports 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 on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. TD Securities boosted 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. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.87.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $81.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $40.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.93. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $75.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.77. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a one year low of $63.79 and a one year high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

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

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

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.