Andina Capital Management LLC Buys New Stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Andina Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,647 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $275,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CTSH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 32.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,663,814 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,196,547,000 after buying an additional 4,365,493 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth about $53,176,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 110.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 704,932 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 432.9% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 608,068 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $41,191,000 after purchasing an additional 493,957 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 44.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,569,664 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $106,330,000 after buying an additional 483,269 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In related news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was 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 directly owns 8,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $640,522.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH traded down $0.07 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $65.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,676,173 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,253,238. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $58.47 and a fifty-two week high of $80.09. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $73.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a current ratio of 2.25. The company has a market capitalization of $32.66 billion, a PE ratio of 15.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.76 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 10.98%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTSH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Societe Generale restated a “sell” rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.63.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company Profile

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.