SpiderRock Advisors LLC Takes $271,000 Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

SpiderRock Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,613 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $271,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CTSH. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,111,915 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $3,860,483,000 after acquiring an additional 7,445,089 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,365,493 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,433,474 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $410,406,000 after purchasing an additional 238,551 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $406,360,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,769,110 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $354,822,000 after buying an additional 401,076 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 0.2 %

CTSH stock traded down $0.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $68.13. 526,048 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,086,740. The company has a market capitalization of $33.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12 month low of $62.14 and a 12 month high of $80.09. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.18.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The information technology service provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.01. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.48% and a net margin of 10.84%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CTSH shares. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.44.

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.