Headlands Technologies LLC Acquires Shares of 5,511 Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 5,511 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $416,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 43.2% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 590 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 26.5% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 773 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total transaction of $69,354.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $640,522.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

CTSH stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $66.94. The stock had a trading volume of 2,818,907 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,583,097. The stock has a market cap of $33.33 billion, a PE ratio of 15.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a current ratio of 2.25. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.50. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $58.47 and a 52-week high of $80.09.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.76 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 10.98%. The company’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CTSH. Mizuho began coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.13.

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.