Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Boosts Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,738 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CTSH. Hendershot Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc. now owns 222,052 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $17,076,000 after acquiring an additional 4,720 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 131,676 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $10,126,000 after purchasing an additional 13,465 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,617 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,610 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 418,702 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $32,198,000 after purchasing an additional 54,453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,338 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $86.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.09. The company has a fifty day moving average of $79.55 and a 200 day moving average of $77.59. The company has a market capitalization of $42.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.79 and a fifty-two week high of $87.61.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 11.35%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 26.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CTSH shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. 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. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $400,550.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. The trade was a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.