Sandy Cove Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Sandy Cove Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,336 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CTSH. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 447 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of CTSH opened at $77.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 1 year low of $63.79 and a 1 year high of $82.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s fifty day moving average is $78.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.46.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.10. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 11.60%. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 26.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on CTSH. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.19.

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.