Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC Makes New $1.04 Million Investment in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 13,500 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,038,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 61,132 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $4,701,000 after buying an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,921,900 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $224,694,000 after purchasing an additional 443,536 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,688 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 727 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 142,731 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $10,976,000 after purchasing an additional 11,921 shares during the period. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 97.8% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 5,688 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 2,813 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 1.0 %

CTSH opened at $87.54 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $81.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 12 month low of $63.79 and a 12 month high of $90.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 27.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CTSH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.67.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% 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.