Birch Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Birch Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSHFree Report) by 18.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,246 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,387 shares during the quarter. Cognizant Technology Solutions makes up approximately 1.6% of Birch Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Birch Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $3,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pensionfund Sabic raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 36.4% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 22,500 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,730,000 after acquiring an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 42,651 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $3,282,000 after buying an additional 2,061 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,057 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $773,000 after acquiring an additional 1,235 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 31,758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.5% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,187,850 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $91,678,000 after acquiring an additional 40,226 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $400,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTSH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.19.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on CTSH

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH traded down $0.20 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $75.71. 653,212 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,162,476. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $63.79 and a 52-week high of $82.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s fifty day moving average is $78.94 and its 200-day moving average is $76.04.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSHGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.10. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.08%. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 26.55%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH)

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