Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Acquires New Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,934 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 33.5% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 630 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 43.2% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on CTSH shares. Societe Generale reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Friday, January 5th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.65.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $67.93 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $75.07 and a 200 day moving average of $72.58. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $58.09 and a 52 week high of $80.09. The company has a quick ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.14. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.98% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.6 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 28.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company 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.