Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Buys 3,751 Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 77.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,584 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,751 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,433,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.5% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,961 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 753 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 665,305 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $51,348,000 after acquiring an additional 31,758 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter worth about $524,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of CTSH opened at $84.00 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $63.79 and a 52-week high of $90.82. The company has a market cap of $41.55 billion, a PE ratio of 18.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a fifty day moving average of $82.12 and a 200 day moving average of $79.34.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on CTSH. StockNews.com raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.67.

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.