KBC Group NV Increases Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,259,128 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 403,617 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned 0.46% of Cognizant Technology Solutions worth $173,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CTSH. Addison Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $80.05 on Monday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12-month low of $63.79 and a 12-month high of $82.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.90.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.10. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.55%.

Insider Transactions at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $400,550.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. The trade was a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $80.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.19.

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.