Sierra Ocean LLC Invests $46,000 in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 603 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $46,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Addison Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 447 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 74.7% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 477 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTSH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective 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 raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $90.70 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.23. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $63.79 and a 1 year high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. As a group, research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 26.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.