Cerity Partners LLC Has $7.57 Million Stock Position in Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 12.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 98,900 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,211 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $7,566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,803 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Capital Insight Partners LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 9,869 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $755,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the period. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,093 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,953 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $2,215,000 after buying an additional 2,157 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 7,455 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $570,000 after buying an additional 933 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTSH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Susquehanna raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $77.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $98.00 in a report on Monday, May 19th. Mizuho raised Cognizant Technology Solutions to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, TD Securities boosted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

CTSH stock opened at $74.31 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $36.63 billion, a PE ratio of 15.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business has a 50 day moving average of $79.31 and a 200-day moving average of $78.74. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation has a 12-month low of $65.52 and a 12-month high of $90.82.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 11.73%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology service provider to purchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.11%.

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.