9,636 Shares in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) Purchased by Arbor Wealth Advisors LLC

Arbor Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 9,636 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $728,000. Cognizant Technology Solutions makes up 0.7% of Arbor Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CTSH. IFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 45.1% during the 4th quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 67,119 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $5,070,000 after purchasing an additional 20,874 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 36.0% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,227,411 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $83,145,000 after purchasing an additional 324,638 shares in the last quarter. PGGM Investments increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 53.8% during the 3rd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 74,411 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $5,041,000 after purchasing an additional 26,035 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $91,082,000 after acquiring an additional 704,932 shares during the period. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,743 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of CTSH stock traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $67.77. The company had a trading volume of 2,818,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,309,964. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $58.09 and a 52-week high of $80.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $74.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 2.25. The company has a market capitalization of $33.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released 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 company had revenue of $4.76 billion for 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%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. 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. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on CTSH shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $70.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Societe Generale restated a “sell” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.