LSV Asset Management Boosts Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 41.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,697,522 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 499,280 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $115,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 22.5% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,783 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,063 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 90.0% during the second quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 11,980 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $815,000 after acquiring an additional 5,674 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth about $537,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 32.3% in the 2nd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 266,895 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $18,149,000 after purchasing an additional 65,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 36,755 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $2,499,000 after purchasing an additional 4,457 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total value of $495,584.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 46,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,419,812.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ CTSH opened at $75.84 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $37.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.46. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12 month low of $62.14 and a 12 month high of $80.27. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $73.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.52.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The information technology service provider reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.80 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 28.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTSH has been the topic of several research reports. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.44.

Cognizant Technology Solutions 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.