Flossbach Von Storch AG Grows Stock Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Flossbach Von Storch AG increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 216,908 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 18,688 shares during the quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $16,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CTSH. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $374,413,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 84.6% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,148,963 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $801,166,000 after purchasing an additional 6,027,057 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,551,475 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $203,107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236,165 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter worth $53,176,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 110.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,344,587 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $91,082,000 after purchasing an additional 704,932 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total transaction of $69,354.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $640,522.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTSH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.65.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock traded down $0.39 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $67.54. 2,538,661 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,335,394. The stock has a market cap of $33.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a current ratio of 2.25. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $58.09 and a 52-week high of $80.09. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $74.87 and its 200 day moving average is $72.55.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.76 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.98% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The business’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. Analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.57%.

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.