Avestar Capital LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Avestar Capital LLC grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 12.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,594 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 735 shares during the quarter. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CTSH. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 18,609,898 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,265,473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943,127 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,781,273 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $569,175,000 after purchasing an additional 101,078 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,565,974 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $378,483,000 after purchasing an additional 94,209 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,340,480 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $363,153,000 after purchasing an additional 142,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 4,844,882 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $329,452,000 after buying an additional 67,017 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.47.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $81.06 on Wednesday. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $63.79 and a 52 week high of $82.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $77.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.51. The company has a market capitalization of $40.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.08%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

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.