Lifeworks Advisors LLC Has $327,000 Stock Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Lifeworks Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 18.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,249 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 676 shares during the quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter worth $1,433,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,961 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 753 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,661 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 665,305 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $51,348,000 after purchasing an additional 31,758 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CTSH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.67.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $83.23 on Friday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1-year low of $63.79 and a 1-year high of $90.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market cap of $41.17 billion, a PE ratio of 18.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.27.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

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.