Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 11,921 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 142,731 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,921 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $10,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CTSH. Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter worth $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 447 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 74.7% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 477 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ CTSH opened at $84.82 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.07. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $63.79 and a 12-month high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share 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%. Analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the firm’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 owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This trade represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CTSH. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.67.

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.