Foster & Motley Inc. Purchases 10,278 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Foster & Motley Inc. grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 32.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 41,571 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,278 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $3,140,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,663,814 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,196,547,000 after acquiring an additional 4,365,493 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth about $53,176,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 110.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,344,587 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $91,082,000 after acquiring an additional 704,932 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 432.9% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 608,068 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $41,191,000 after acquiring an additional 493,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 44.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,569,664 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $106,330,000 after acquiring an additional 483,269 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $68.32 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.58. The company has a quick ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market cap of $34.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.06. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $58.09 and a 52-week high of $80.09.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.14. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.98% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 28.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total value of $69,354.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,312 shares in the company, valued at $640,522.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CTSH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Susquehanna reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price (down previously from $87.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.44.

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.