Fifth Third Bancorp Has $1.29 Million Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 5.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,921 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 936 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $1,294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Simon Quick Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 1st quarter worth approximately $225,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 148,121 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $11,331,000 after acquiring an additional 5,390 shares during the period. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 12,506 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $957,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 80,490 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $6,155,000 after acquiring an additional 11,600 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

CTSH stock opened at $78.95 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $76.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.03. The company has a market capitalization of $38.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.51, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.98. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52-week low of $63.79 and a 52-week high of $90.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.09.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $5.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program 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 repurchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 26.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CTSH. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $93.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Susquehanna raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $77.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.00.

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.